I just got my postcard from Hilda Yates. This year's yarn sale is Saturday 10/27 and Sunday 10/28!
For those of you who don't know, Yates is a commercial sheep farm in Ascutney, Vermont. Every year, Hilda Yates has a huge yarn sale of 100% wool in a large variety of colors for very reasonable prices. If you get there on Saturday morning, she has a brunch buffet set out as well - everything from quiche to fruit salad!
Expect to grab a bag and go from room to room in their old farm house. There are bags of various colors and sizes lining each room and even the hall! There is bulky weight, worsted weight, sport and fingering weight. Most of it is in hanks, but sometimes you can find cones. There is roving in all sorts of colors. If you are looking for something in particular, just ask! Chances are Hilda has it.
While you are there, be sure to get on the mailing list so you can plan for next year's sale. Hilda mails out postcards about a month before the sale is held.
Hope to see you there!
Showing posts with label wool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wool. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Crochet! Design Call-Out
Making the adjustment to living in a new home with a new life that includes 5 online courses, I have not had much time to devote to crochet. Now that things have calmed down a little, I hope to rectify that situation. This latest casting call may be the jump start I need to start contributing again.
For those of you who don't know, a design call-out or casting call is when a publisher has an idea for a book or special issue magazine, and they need design contributions. Crochet! magazine is having such a call-out.
The reason I believe this may be the kick-in-the-pants I need to get going is the subject matter: all cold weather stuff! I have an entire notebook full of designs I have made over the years that I could contribute, with very little work on my part. I have photos of the finished items because I make them, year after year, for my own family and friends. My primary medium for many years was wool - sheep, alpaca, and llama.
I have tried in the past to whip up something for call-outs. The problem is, they don't give you a lot of time - usually only a couple of weeks - to submit something. If they take sketches and swatches, fine. But some companies want the finished product! Not being in a position to drop everything to create a design, I have learned, the hard way, to pass on those.
In this case, though, all I have to do is complete the submission form. Perhaps I will get a design published this year after all!
For those of you who don't know, a design call-out or casting call is when a publisher has an idea for a book or special issue magazine, and they need design contributions. Crochet! magazine is having such a call-out.
The reason I believe this may be the kick-in-the-pants I need to get going is the subject matter: all cold weather stuff! I have an entire notebook full of designs I have made over the years that I could contribute, with very little work on my part. I have photos of the finished items because I make them, year after year, for my own family and friends. My primary medium for many years was wool - sheep, alpaca, and llama.
I have tried in the past to whip up something for call-outs. The problem is, they don't give you a lot of time - usually only a couple of weeks - to submit something. If they take sketches and swatches, fine. But some companies want the finished product! Not being in a position to drop everything to create a design, I have learned, the hard way, to pass on those.
In this case, though, all I have to do is complete the submission form. Perhaps I will get a design published this year after all!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Combining Yarns
When crocheting winter gloves, I generally use sock yarn or fingering weight wool. The gauge works out perfectly for the small to medium hand size. Medium to large, however, requires either thicker weight or a larger hook.
I had purchased some fingering weight 100% wool at the Yates Farm Yarn sale, but I found that it felt a bit too stiff and scratchy. Next I tried combining it with lace weight alpaca to soften it up. It worked like a charm.
By combining the two, I achieved the gauge I needed for medium/large gloves. Both being natural fibers, the combination should provide the same if not more warmth and still be water resistant. By using 1 strand of forest green wool with 1 strand of medium brown alpaca, the color combination works wonderfully. The wool should also keep the alpaca from stretching out of shape.
It is important to learn the various properties associated with different fibers to make a combination that works. If I had put the wool with cotton, for example, I would not trust that it would retain the water resistant properties. I could have doubled up the wool, but that would not have softened the finished product at all.
Combining yarns can be a fun way to get the properties you want out of your finished crochet project. Trial and error may take some time, but it is well worth the education you will give yourself.
I had purchased some fingering weight 100% wool at the Yates Farm Yarn sale, but I found that it felt a bit too stiff and scratchy. Next I tried combining it with lace weight alpaca to soften it up. It worked like a charm.
By combining the two, I achieved the gauge I needed for medium/large gloves. Both being natural fibers, the combination should provide the same if not more warmth and still be water resistant. By using 1 strand of forest green wool with 1 strand of medium brown alpaca, the color combination works wonderfully. The wool should also keep the alpaca from stretching out of shape.
It is important to learn the various properties associated with different fibers to make a combination that works. If I had put the wool with cotton, for example, I would not trust that it would retain the water resistant properties. I could have doubled up the wool, but that would not have softened the finished product at all.
Combining yarns can be a fun way to get the properties you want out of your finished crochet project. Trial and error may take some time, but it is well worth the education you will give yourself.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Yates Farm Yarn Sale
Every year, Hilda and Bill Yates open up their farm house to the public for one weekend in October for an all out yarn sale. Located on Vermont route 44 less than a mile from the Ascutney mountain ski area, they are very easy to find.
The Yates operates a farm of a commercial flock of sheep year round. Every year, they send their fleece to Bartlett's to be processed, and receive back hundreds of bags of yarn in many different weights and colors. All of it is 100% wool.
This year, the sport weight skeins are 439 yards, worsted weight are 220 yards, bulky weight 85 yards, and all are about $4 each. You can also find bags of both regular and pencil roving, and cones of sport weight that have over 1700 yards. There are over 20 colors to choose from, all of the same dye lot.
On Saturday morning, Hilda puts a wonderful spread of coffee, cider, and goodies out on the island in the kitchen. There you will find fruit salad, quiche, muffins, coffee cake, and many other things to snack on. People discuss patterns and what they've made from the wool they purchased the previous year. You can sign up to be on the mailing list, where you will get a postcard in the mail a week or two before the next sale.
All in all, it is a wonderful time. I look forward to going every year, and usually get enough yarn to last through until next year. You can find the Yates Farm Yarn sale if you take exit 9 off of I-91 in Vermont, follow the signs to Windsor, and turn onto route 44 at the Cumberland Farms. After several miles you will see the junction of route 44A, but don't turn on it, just use that as a landmark, as it's only a mile or so past that on the right that you will find the Yates Farm yarn sale.
The Yates operates a farm of a commercial flock of sheep year round. Every year, they send their fleece to Bartlett's to be processed, and receive back hundreds of bags of yarn in many different weights and colors. All of it is 100% wool.
This year, the sport weight skeins are 439 yards, worsted weight are 220 yards, bulky weight 85 yards, and all are about $4 each. You can also find bags of both regular and pencil roving, and cones of sport weight that have over 1700 yards. There are over 20 colors to choose from, all of the same dye lot.
On Saturday morning, Hilda puts a wonderful spread of coffee, cider, and goodies out on the island in the kitchen. There you will find fruit salad, quiche, muffins, coffee cake, and many other things to snack on. People discuss patterns and what they've made from the wool they purchased the previous year. You can sign up to be on the mailing list, where you will get a postcard in the mail a week or two before the next sale.
All in all, it is a wonderful time. I look forward to going every year, and usually get enough yarn to last through until next year. You can find the Yates Farm Yarn sale if you take exit 9 off of I-91 in Vermont, follow the signs to Windsor, and turn onto route 44 at the Cumberland Farms. After several miles you will see the junction of route 44A, but don't turn on it, just use that as a landmark, as it's only a mile or so past that on the right that you will find the Yates Farm yarn sale.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Halfway Through August - Time For Wool!
It may only be August 15th on the calendar, but the feeling of the air has changed. It's mother nature's way of reminding us that winter is coming. Therefore, my weekend was spent pulling the wool out of my stash.
I know that there will still be plenty of hot days to come, but now is the time to start on those winter projects. I've started a cape requested by one daughter and a coat for the other. Thankfully I have enough wool in my stash to complete them both without having to purchase more yarn.
Living in the north country where winter can last 6+ months, I try each year to have a season's worth of hats, mittens, gloves, fingerless gloves with mitten tops, and scarves completed by the end of September. I put them all in a basket in the mud room next to where the coats are hung so everyone can be prepared to face the elements. Right now that basket looks a bit forlorn with only a couple of mismatched mittens in it.
Making winter items for my family has saved hundreds of dollars over the years. I use wools from local farms that cost a whole lot less than name brand from somewhere in South America. I use local alpaca yarn rather than alpaca from Peru. Both are warm and naturally waterproof! Summer farmer's markets are the perfect place to find local wools.
Completing this annual commitment doesn't necessarily interfere with crochet designing. Most of my designs are tested on family members anyway! The gloves and fingerless gloves with mitten top are my own designs, created during this yearly ritual. It's always fun to create a new hat, and it usually doesn't take more than a few hours.
I know that there will still be plenty of hot days to come, but now is the time to start on those winter projects. I've started a cape requested by one daughter and a coat for the other. Thankfully I have enough wool in my stash to complete them both without having to purchase more yarn.
Living in the north country where winter can last 6+ months, I try each year to have a season's worth of hats, mittens, gloves, fingerless gloves with mitten tops, and scarves completed by the end of September. I put them all in a basket in the mud room next to where the coats are hung so everyone can be prepared to face the elements. Right now that basket looks a bit forlorn with only a couple of mismatched mittens in it.
Making winter items for my family has saved hundreds of dollars over the years. I use wools from local farms that cost a whole lot less than name brand from somewhere in South America. I use local alpaca yarn rather than alpaca from Peru. Both are warm and naturally waterproof! Summer farmer's markets are the perfect place to find local wools.
Completing this annual commitment doesn't necessarily interfere with crochet designing. Most of my designs are tested on family members anyway! The gloves and fingerless gloves with mitten top are my own designs, created during this yearly ritual. It's always fun to create a new hat, and it usually doesn't take more than a few hours.
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