I Wasn't Slacking, I Swear!

So I didn't make it back within the "next week" time frame that I said I would, but it wasn't because I had nothing to offer and nothing was happening, or that I was just slacking off this time- it was because I was gathering a WHOLE BUNCH of pictures and stuff! I did a major three day yarn dyeing extravaganza, and it was incredibly exhausting. I really need to get a table to work on. But I've definitely gotten better about remembering to take pictures during the process. Without further ado...

That's a whoooole bunch of yarn, pre dyeing. You'll notice there are two skeins that look as though they've already been dyed and plied- they were. However, they were dyed with RIT, and... yeah. They were really underwhelming. They were much more of a wishy washy mauve sort of color scheme. Bleh.

Action shots of the yarn soaking in the soda ash solution. Slimy, smelly, totally essential soda ash. It gets mixed in with hot water, and then the yarn gets dumped in and mushed about and left to soak for a little while.

Dye bottles, reporting for duty! That reminds me, I have to re-label a few of them. The labels have a tendency to get a bit, um, dirty. And illegible. And sometimes the labels can't take it and they disappear.

I honestly don't remember which skein this was. I think it might have sold already though.

I channeled my inner Pollock for this one. There were two sweater pieces I hadn't yet unraveled from last summer, and the reason I hadn't unraveled them was because the cotton was knit with a REALLY ANNOYING strand of some elastic-nylon-floofy garbage that unraveled at a different rate from the cotton, and made the process needlessly complicated. I decided to finally take the plunge though, and in the process do something I hadn't done before, which was dyeing the yarn before unraveling it. See how concentrated the colors look up there? I'm going to put up an addendum blog post tomorrow, showing how the colors wound up bleeding and fading into pastels as it soaked overnight. The finished yarn doesn't look anything like the colors above!

This is the yarn from the other sweater piece I dyed before unraveling. It's currently drying and will also be featured in tomorrow's part 2.

And, just for fun, here are some progress pictures of a skein I really enjoyed working with.

This is the yarn before adding twist to it. You can see it's just a bunch of tiny strands held together.

This is the yarn after I've added the twist. Radically different, eh?

And this is the yarn, after it's been chain plied. Wound up being 200 yards even. Some soaking and thwacking evened it all out, and it is currently on its way to its new home!

Tomorrow, in addition to an update on the two skeins still drying, I'll also share a bit about a personal project I've got going on, and I'll talk about the sweaters I bought yesterday. One is REALLY bizarre and I won't be able to sell much of the yarn from it as there are many obnoxious knots- but the yarn itself is highlighter yellow and- get this- actually encased in white fishnet (lacy icord, probably)! How could I NOT take home such a technological marvel of fiber?!

As always, you can find me on Etsy, on Pinterest (where I've made new boards and pinned quite a few useful and beautiful things!), on Facebook, and on Instagram.

That's all for now... Yarn Goddess, over and out!

I'm Still Here, I Promise!

Hello everyone!

My apologies for the long absence from the blog- I've been getting used to being more regular on other social media, and as a result, the blog took a back seat. But from now on, I am going to try really hard to commit to at least one post a week, in addition to everything else. Practice makes perfect, and it takes a while to develop new habits and make them stick, so I've just got to keep sticking, or something ;-)

Anyhow, if you've taken a look at the shop lately, you've seen there are NEW YARNS! New lambswool, and new skeins in a silk/viscose/angora blend. The latter two skeins... I could weep, they are so lovely. The glow that emanates from them is nothing short of MAGNIFICENT. The boring, dirty shade of beige that the yarn originally was did nothing to highlight the beauty of the fiber.

LOOK at that freakin' yarn! Can you even, because I can't. 

I learned a few more things during my last sweater acquisition- things about seams. Usually, I just check the seams at the end of the sleeve and the bottom of the sweater, thinking that if those are good, the whole sweater is good. And... I would be wrong. Actually, I'm not even sure what happened with this sweater, because the ENTIRE DAMN THING is serged together. How did I not notice this? I'm gonna blame it on the weird lady who was commenting on the radio show that was playing in the store while I was selecting sweaters. Yeah, it's all her fault!

I have yet to dye the cotton/linen portion (yes, I found some SWEET linen to work with!) from this batch of sweaters, but I anticipate getting it done some time this week. I still have a little of the glorious silk blend left to work with, but I haven't yet decided on my intentions for that. Check out the total haul, though! 

There was also this sweater, which I knew wouldn't over-dye well, having a high acrylic content- but I thought that I could get a few interesting shades on it, at least. Except... for whatever reason, this sweater is impossible to pull apart. I gave up, and I think I'll just keep it for myself to wear. It's a really gorgeous shade of blue, that's for damn sure!

While we're still on the topic of learning, I would like to mention that over the last few months, my spinning and plying, especially with lurex, has VASTLY improved. As I had no one to learn from, no YouTube videos on the subject to pull up, I had to find my own method and improve on it from there. Because of this, I now judge many of my first attempts to be vastly inferior, and somewhat embarrassing, when compared to the more recent skeins I've produced. As a result, I am going to turn these earlier yarns into finished objects to sell, rather than selling them as yarn. I'd feel more comfortable knitting with yarn I deem sub-par, than letting someone else knit with it and be dissatisfied, thinking that ALL my yarn was scorn worthy! This also allows people to see the possibilities for the yarn- once they see how a certain skein works up into a shawl or a hat, for example, they'll be able to visualize other yarn in the shop being worked up into whatever they are interested in making.
(It will also satisfy my grabby hands, greedy desire to knit with all of the yarn I make, even though I know that's terribly naughty of me.)

In the spirit of expanding and diversifying my products, I'm also very interested in making more stitch marker sets. There's a lovely snag free, rose themed set in the shop now, and all the jewelry making supplies I've managed to hoard over the years are waiting to be turned into knitting jewelry as well. In addition to sets, I think I'd like to make a free stitch marker with every order a regular thing. It was initially just for the first ten orders, but I know that as a customer, I'd be pretty excited about a free stitch marker with every order!

I would also like to create more patterns for the shop, and I had a MAJOR fire for designing lit under me for the most part this summer, but then I just kind of lost motivation. I battle bouts of depression from time to time, and I had two this summer that rained on my parade in a big way. Lately, I've been picking up steam in an even bigger way, thankfully. I'm making a few changes in the way my brain and subconscious work, I'm changing old attitudes and programming about money and success, and I'm really optimistic that I will be able to grow my business, reach more people, and create more and more beautiful yarns.

I am also thinking of re-opening my old Etsy shop, Magick Cat Knits. That shop will be for things I've knit that are NOT from recycled yarn. I have so many hats and fingerless gloves that I've knit over the years that I wasn't able to sell in my Storenvy shop. But now that I know how titles and tags and SEO work, I'm confident that I can sell them this time around. They are really well made, unique pieces, so there's no reason why they shouldn't sell!

Ok, I think that's about all I've got to update with for now. As always, you can find me on Facebook, on Etsy, and on Instagram as Magick Cat String Sanctuary.

I hope the rest of your week is full of joy and inspiration!

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age."
- Sophia Loren

Fibrously Yours,

The Yarn Goddess

Warning: Picture Heavy Post!

Well, I finally got all that cotton plied up! A few skeins are missing from this post, but that's because I'm keeping them. Either they weren't plied well enough, or the dye job got botched (hello, smudges!) or, in the case of the two white skeins I dyed, there were too many knots. But, now I know how to avoid smudges, and I'm much more comfortable with my wheel, so I don't anticipate having these problems often in the future. That being said, those skeins are still being put to work- they'll be used for prototypes of patterns I'm designing.

And while I'm on the subject of problems, let me tell you how, in the middle of unraveling a lamb's wool sweater tonight, MY FREAKIN' BALL WINDER BROKE. And will no longer wind neat center pull cakes. And because of this, I literally had to throw out about $40 of potential profit that wound up all tangled and completely impossible to save. I may be able to get a new screw for it tomorrow at the hardware store (the problem was apparently a screw went flying out, but I neither heard it nor saw where it went, so it's forever gone despite shining a flashlight into all possible places it could have disappeared to) but even that might not solve the problem, if I can't get the top of it back to the correct angle for winding. I was rather enraged, but a midnight trip to the drugstore to buy a lovely apple scented candle soothed my very savage beast (somewhat, anyway.) Decided that since I can't really unravel anymore, I'd skein up some of the wool I have waiting in cakes (cashmere too!) I then realized I have two more rounds of cotton dyeing to get through, so I'll do round number one tomorrow (SQUEEEE!!!!!!!!!) I look forward to doing it in daylight tomorrow, in a much smaller, less back breaking batch.

But... I did promise pictures, did I not? So without further ado... here they are :-)

"Poison"

"Kingdom of Citrus"

"American Pharaoh"

"Autumn in the Rainforest"

"Barbie's Dream Pool"

"Boys of Summer"

"Cranberry Tea:

"Fairies Under the Primroses at Twilight"

"Cranberry Tea in the Zen Garden"

"Queen of Hearts"

"Queen of the Spice Road"

"Mermaid's Melody"

As you can see, I went a little crazy with the lurex... AND I DON'T REGRET A THING. Sparkle ALL the yarn! I hope my potential customers feel the same way... feel free to leave me feedback, and let me know what you think! <3

P.s... my shop link is https://www.etsy.com/shop/MagickCatSS?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Dyeing Adventures

So, I dyed my first batch of cotton! It's currently drying, and it consists of maybe 30 skeins. 

THAT RIGHT THERE was my first mistake. Since I don't have a real set up or system yet, I wound up kneeling on my blocking mats. In a dark, humid, hot room. My hair, which is straight and thick, actually started curling. By the end of the endeavor, I was so desperate to finish that I made some really bizarre color choices because I just started grabbing bottles and hoped they'd turn out ok. (I think they did, but whew, that was not fun.) 

"Well, dummy," you might ask, "why didn't you just take a break?" Because cats, that's why. Specifically my younger cat, who is my shadow and wants to be with me always in everything I do. She's very inquisitive and stubborn and quick, and I was afraid she'd dart in and get something nasty on herself. 

Also, I learned that darker yarn, despite being pre-owned, might bleed. While sitting in the soda ash solution, both the teal and maroon yarn that I had wound up somehow leaving blue and pink spots on the two white skeins I had sitting in there. I had already decided to keep those for myself, due to the many knots they had, but my original plans for dyeing them wound up getting changed. (AHHH I'm super excited about what I'm gonna do with them!) So, from now on, anything that's darker in color is going to get washed with synthrapol first, to avoid contamination. 

I learned that a certain color named Razzle Dazzle, while lovely, is the dye equivalent of that person that just won't stop talking. It did not matter how little of it was on a skein, even the tiniest patch of that color will bleed infinitely. My back is KILLING me now from being stooped over my bathroom sink for hours with hot and cold water and synthrapol. Had I limited myself to ten skeins, this would probably not be an issue. 

Soon, I will have a new camera so I can share pictures of all this craziness with you. And I'm now dreaming of the day that I have an actual studio to work in. But until then, I really need to figure out a better system. 

Right this moment though, it's bed time. I've earned it! 

Well, hello there! Let me introduce myself...

Name: Tina
Age: 28 (born on 7/11/86)
Location: Ridgewood, Queens. 
Home: One boyfriend, two cats, and three tons of yarn. Oh, and plants... lots and lots of plants. Currently, there is a war between the tomato plants and the gigantic geraniums as to who will have the honor of someday strangling us in our sleep.
Favorite Food: I love just about everything, but steak and sushi are definitely my favorites, followed by a good grilled chicken Greek salad. (Big Nick's on the upper west side had the best grilled chicken Greek ever!)
Favorite Drink: I require vast amounts of caffeine to keep myself focused and running smoothly, but coffee (although I love it) tends to mess with my stomach- so gallons and gallons of tea it is. I have a VERY well stocked tea cabinet, ranging from plain green to cherry to mint chocolate, and everything in between. 
Favorite Color: I wear a LOT of black, just because it goes with everything. Otherwise, I'm a total color junkie. I love creating beautiful and unusual color combinations that evoke feelings or memories. I'm fascinated by strong contrasts. 
Favorite Music: 80's metal/pop/rock, new age. Favorite artists include Dio, Billy Joel, Guns N' Roses, Patti Smith, Van Morrison, AC/DC, etc. 
Interests: Outside of creating yarn and knitting with it, I enjoy painting, drawing, nail art, playing violin, smothering my cats with embarrassing amounts of love, gardening, eating, paganism, the occult, anything vintage Halloween, unusual folk lore, and shopping online. I'm a bit of a hermit and dread the rare social obligation I get dragged into.
If I won the lottery, I would: Build an animal sanctuary/ adoption house that would rescue all the unwanted cats and dogs who urgently need homes in the NYC area. So many animals, especially pit bull types, are killed every day simply because they exist and no one wants them. Imagine if we did that to human children? Always spay and neuter your pets!

My Story:
I was born in Orange County, NY, and moved to Long Island NY when I was 6. I attended college for fine art, and dropped out for various personal and financial reasons, but the feeling of failure from having to drop out combined with the factors that led me to drop out led me into a deep depression. I worked various odd jobs here and there, and drank a lot to numb the pain of how disappointed I was in myself. 

Eventually, I picked up crocheting again, something I had learned to do around the age of 12. I discovered Ravelry, and became insatiable. Soon I began to get serious about knitting, something I had learned around age 7, and finally progressed past garter stitch. (Thanks, YouTube!) From there, I tumbled down a rabbit hole of yarn dyeing, thrift store sweater unraveling, and spinning yarn. I needed to learn ALL THE THINGS! It soon became an obsession of mine, to transform old sweaters into beautiful "new" yarn. 

I decided that I had finally found an occupation that I could happily do for the rest of my life, and tried no less than 4 Kickstarter campaigns to get my business going. On the 4th attempt, I received a message from a woman in Australia who wanted very much to see my endeavor succeed, and was willing to invest in it to make it happen. Fast forward to today, and things are slowly falling into place, thanks to my business partner. I have a brand new spinning wheel (a Schacht Ladybug) that I've been practicing on, and a shipment of professional dyes headed my way. I just bought a batch of 8 sweaters to work on, and we're aiming to have the Etsy shop open in a month. I've also placed an order for a bunch of Lurex, because few things are more fun than sparkly (and glow in the dark) yarn! I'm really excited to create these yarns and share them with people. For the first time, I feel like I've truly found my path in life, and I can't wait to see where it leads. 

This blog is going to serve as a window into the journey- how the yarn is made, each batch, from start to finish. 

Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Don't be shy, I want to hear from you! 
I look forward to sharing my work with you all in the days to come...

Coming Soon...