I'm still only halfway done winding the second kilo (curse you, fragile wrist!) but I just couldn't wait any longer to show off Pretty Rickey. This is one of my favorite colorways so far, and not just because I'm obsessed with the color peach and managed to mix very nearly my favorite shade for this yarn.

Seriously, I have several nail polishes, lipsticks, scarves, blouses, and dresses all in this color, and it was the main color for all the flowers of my wedding earlier this year. I <3 peach!

Click ahead to see previews!

Gallery Update :)

After a painfully long drive up from SF to Portland yesterday, hubby and I arrived home to an extremely happy kitty.  She followed us around all night, purring and demanding belly rubs, and meowed very loudly whenever one of us would leave the room. As I type, she is sitting next to me on hubby's computer chair, pretending to nap but really keeping one eye open to make sure I don't leave the house again.

She thinks I can't see her if she hides behind her tail.

While I'm being held hostage by kitty snuggles, I've updated the gallery post to include pictures of Blue!

Preview photos: Alaskan Ice Tea!

This is a first - posting photos of the yarn before giving a little summary of the dye experience.  Truthfully, at this point, I'm not finding any major revelations with each dye any longer; mostly it's just small refinements of technique and resolving minor annoyances. For example, this month, one of the colors just did NOT want to go into the yarn and I wound up using twice as much dye as usual.  My ball winder also committed suicide, resulting in some pretty horrific tangles that took up to five hours PER BALL to fix. But now I have an excuse to get a bitchin' new ball winder, a million times nicer than the dinky plastic one I've been using, so that's a plus at least.

Despite its resistance, this yarn turned out beautifully. The main blue is bright but cool, nearly a perfect match for the finished cocktail and reminiscent of a glacial lake. The darker blue provides a subtle lowlight, the color of an arctic sea, while the streak of lime-lemon-and-orange gradient creates an engaging highlight.  

Words can't really describe it, so I'll quit wasting bandwidth and just show you some pictures. Click the cut to see more :)

OOOOOooooOOOOOOoooo!

Ravelry user WatchOutForAnna has recently completed a pair of truly bitchin' socks using Tipsy Sheep's Kir de Reddit, and has given me permission to share the awesome with all of you! You can check out the project page HERE for pattern info.

Thanks for sharing, WatchOutForAnna!  I think I speak for all of us when I say:

If you'd like to show off your Tipsy Sheep knits on the blog, send me a link in the comments!

A few more pics of Blue

I got all the skeins dressed up in their pretty little labels, so I thought I'd post a few more images. As always, they're behind a cut to keep it a surprise for those who don't want to know ahead of time!

Pictures of all the things!

Now that the last ball of KdR is safely in the hands of its new owner (be sure to feed and water it regularly and take it for nice long walks!), I've updated the official gallery post.  I'll be putting KdR as well as the other colorways from Round 1 up for sale in a shop early next month.

I've also spent the last few days dividing and skeining Blue. I'm about halfway through the second kilo now, and haven't made the labels yet, but this colorway is just too pretty not to share.

Although the cocktail for this month is called "Blue," the actual finished color of the drink is mostly a strawberry pink, a result of the pale blue of the blueberry liqueur mixing with the natural orange of the OJ.  Since strawberry is also a dominant flavor in the cocktail, I made a soft pink a dominant color in this yarn.  I also spent a long time experimenting with this one, trying to mix just the right shade of blue to represent the blueberry element of the cocktail, and I think I finally got it.  It's a navy blue with faint purple undertones, almost the exact same shade as a ripe blueberry. The transitions between the navy blue and pink fade to this really lovely lavender color that reminds me of summer sunsets - very fitting, considering that this cocktail basically tastes like summer in a glass.  I kept the orange and lemon yellow elements rather small, with a smooth gradient between them, further reinforcing that sunset feel.


Without further adieu, here are some pics of the yarn!

Gallery Post!

Here you will find photos of each available colorway, with new photos added AFTER each mailing goes out (so as to keep it a surprise for those of you who don't want to know what's coming).

Cosmopolitan
First available: July 2013

Mint Julep

First available: August 2013

White Russian
First available: September 2013

Kir de Reddit
First available: October 2013

                

Coming Soon: Blue!