What's this?

 What could it be?  Hmmm.

Let's open it.

That looks like fun.  Oh, look!  Something delicious is next to it!

Well, look at that!  A stunning new yarn from my favorite yarn dyer, Earth and Empress!  And it's called Pumpkin Patch!

And if you think this is pretty, take a look at this one.  I didn't buy it yet because I have enough yarn to stock a shop, but my resistance is weakening. Lavender Earl Grey!

Lili Lace Yarn is the easiest lace yarn to work with!

Do you like lace but are a bit afraid of really thin yarn?  Do I have a yarn for you!

This is Lili Lace Yarn:  875 yards of a 2-ply, slightly heavier lace wt yarn in 100% merino.  It knits and crochets up so easily.  I've done so many shawls from "regular" lace yarn, and I love it, but for ease and speed, Lili yarn tops it.  There's just enough weight to it, so that you don't feel as if it's going to slide off your needles, and the stitches are really easy to see (especially if your eyes are not as young as they were.)  Price is a very competitive $30/skein.  Needle size can go from a 2 or 3 to a 6, if you like your shawls to be really lacy.  It is a glorious yarn to work with, I can promise you that!

Cameras and lights and monitors being what they are, the colors in the picture are pretty accurate (at least on my monitor).  The upper left hand yarn, the purple one, is move vivid and so is the upper right hand one.  That one is called Paprika, and really looks like the real thing.  Given that I'm Hungarian, I know the color of paprika, and this is it.

Where?  In my Etsy shop, of course!

A hint on working with any lace yarn:  use needles with a tiny bit of drag to them.  The Knit Pro wooden ones are perfect.  A good sharp point, and the yarn doesn't slide off the way it would with a metal needle.  Addi lace needles are also very good.  Bamboo will work well provided that the point is sharp.

Andante Scarf - a mystery crochet-a-long

I know.  I've been absent.  Just busy with family, vacation, travel, etc, etc.
But today I have something neat to offer you:  a crochet-a-long designed by Melinda Miller of Ravelry fame!  If you are a crocheter and don't know Melinda, you're in for a treat!  Her designs are charming, interesting and fun to work.  We've teamed up to do another CAL:  Andante Scarf! 

This is a mystery scarf, but I can give you a tiny hint.  The border is so pretty, but I can't show that to you.  You'll have to sign up for the pattern and yarn.

The yarn is Lyric yarn, that glorious new fingering weight singles that I'm carrying (400 yards of 100% superwash merino).  Here are the colors:  Asparagus, Pewter, Watermelon, Chocolate Milk, and Dusk.

 Interested?  You can purchase in my Etsy shop.  All the details are there.

http://fritzl.etsy.com

Heigh Ho, heigh ho, it's off to dye I go.

OK, it's off to dye I went.  Yesterday.  I had a yen to dye up some pretty colorways.

Top row, the first two and the second from the right are all Heather Yarn, a lovely yarn that dyes 2 values at the same time.  How?  A couple of the plies are in non-superwash wool, and the other ply is superwash.  Superwash takes up dye immediately, the regular wool take a lot longer to take the color, so you get a barber-pole effect.  However, it knits up as a marled yarn.  Very interesting and complex.  Fingering weight, no nylon, and perfect for scarves and such.  You can make socks, but you'll have to hand wash them in cold water.

420 yards of fingering weight yarn that's lofty and lovely to knit or crochet with.

Here they are:  Orangeade, Jenny, and Candy. 

This next batch are Rachel yarns.  100% SW (superwash) merino with a neat little twist that really shows off your stitches.  400 yards of delicious woolliness.

Clown, Grete, Lemon, Parrot, Tropical Fish., Vermillion, and Wood Grain

  

Where?

http://fritzl.etsy.com

Bag Lady

I love project bags.  I can never have too many of them, either.  I swear my knitting WIPs exist so I can make more project bags.  So take a peak at my latest two bags, both on sale in my Etsy shop.

http://fritzl.etsy.com

 This one is my Batik medium project bag, and it easily holds 4 skeins of sock yarn!

This one is Tea Party Small Project Bag, and it holds 2 skeins of sock yarn.

I cut out another medium one this morning.  This is a disease. 

Card Tricks

Here's what's on my design floor as of this morning:  Card Tricks.  As usual, I'm doing this with English paper piecing.  Yep, I know, it takes forever and sewing it on the machine would just zip along, but I love this method, and can do it any place and any time and am not dependent on the machine.  It's sort of like knuckle ballers in the baseball world:  we EPP folk love our weird little method.  We're not the norm, but who cares?

Dyeing:  I'm doing a large job for Sock Madness 7.  Three colors to choose from, and priced very very well.  Unfortunately, first class international shipping is going up drastically on Sat, and that affects my international customers.  The rates are doubled, which is just awful.  Domestic is fine as it is.  If you're on Ravelry and are in the SM7 group, you can buy in my Etsy shop.  You know the password for the good price.

Knitting:  Making a baby jacket for the Bunny Child.  No pics yet.  But it's very cute.

Deep Rich Color

The Latest and Greatest Colors

Etsy!

Heather yarn.  100% merino.  Hand wash in cold water only.

3 skeins of Carrie Lace yarn.  80/20 merino/silk.  Hand wash in cold water only.

Another sweater for Mister and a New Yarn

I think I have a way to go.  Good thing Mister incubates for another 7 weeks.  Grow, Little Mister, grow!  Kick your mommie!  Yay, Little Mister!

A new yarn!  Rachel Sparkle

75/20/5 SW merino/nylon/stellina

430+ yards 100 gm 

This is my Rachel yarn with sparkle.

This is a yarn that I bought a couple of years ago.  Dyed up one skein for me, and fell in love with it, but then I never dyed any more.  It's a beautiful yarn, and why I didn't dye and sell is beyond me, but I didn't.  The other day, I was going through my yarn tubs, and found it.  Here are 2 skeins:  Magenta and Plums.

The sparkle comes from the stellina.  It's not outrageously glitzy, rather very elegant.  Knits up beautifully; you will not feel the stellina as you knit.  Lovely for fancy socks and pretty shawlettes.  I feel a shawl design coming on, but not until I'm done with Mister knitting.  Grandsons come first.

In case you can't tell, I'm quite in love with Mister.  Can't wait to see him.  He's the last of the grands, so that gives him some sort of specialness.  Between the 2 of us, we have 5 grands, 2 boys, and 3 girls.  Mister will make the 6th. 

Bambi Rules

Two more pretty skeins in my Etsy shop!

Sweet Violet

and Golden Forest

New Bambi Yarn!

I love dyeing and knitting and wearing wool/bamboo yarn. It's so soft and yet very sturdy.  Great stuff.  I keep trying different combinations of this yarn, and have found the ultimate Bambi yarn!  80/20 superwash Blue Faced Leicester/bamboo.  BFL has this long fiber which gives the yarn a subtle sheen.  Wears like iron, and yet it is so comfy next to your skin.  The bamboo doesn't take the dye, so the yarn has a heathered appearance.  Really really lovely yarn!  Each skein has 430+ yards, 100 grams, and costs $23.00.

Here's what I just listed in my Etsy shop:  Bramble, Dreams, and Remember.

And I also added one very pretty skein of Carrie Lace yarn (80/20 merino/silk.  100 grams.  1300 yards) Aruba

Bundles! We have bundles!

Some new bundles of Rachel yarn (100 grams, 400 yards, SW merino) at a great price!  2 skeins for $36 + shipping!  Regular price per skein is $21, so this is a great deal!

And for you lace knitters, here's the deal of the century.  2 skeins of that most amazing lace yarn, Lili Lace, at $60 + shipping.  Each skein has 875 yards of 100% merino wool, and regularly sells for $33/skein. 

Where?:  at my Etsy shop.