Giveaway Drawing Tomorrow!

Did you remember to enter?

I'm drawing the winner tomorrow, June 1st.

There is still time to enter. See details HERE.

New Yarn Base!

Pop Royalty on Flamenco Monkey

So, if wool is nice, and a wool/silk blend is nicer, what does that make a wool/silk/cashmere blend? Why, a new yarn at Dye Monkey Yarns of course!

Now Available... Flamenco Monkey
Fingering weight 70% Superwash Merino /20% Silk /10% Cashmere 437 yds/100 gram

Do I need to tell you it has a wonderful hand? Yeah, probably not.

What color do you want?

Custom orders available on this base.

And don't forget your coupon! PARTY35 gets you 35% off all yarns and custom orders until May 31st.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is a big day and to celebrate ALL orders today receive FREE gifts.  Treat yourself or give your family the coupon code and send them to my store with a list of what Mama wants.

Coupon code PARTY35 gets you 35% OFF any order.

First 3 orders will receive one of the custom commemorative Dye Monkey stitch markers.

Further, don't forget to enter into the giveaway drawing. You can get all the details on how to enter HERE. Entry is free and easy.

Dye Magic

Dyeing is so addictive. I can't wait to see what magic comes out of the pot.

You're probably wondering what I mean by that.  After all, I'm the person adding the dye - shouldn't I know what I'm doing?

Well, yes, sort of.

I have formulas/recipes that I've developed for each of the colorways. But even when I follow my plans, there is an element of magic to dyeing yarn.

Each base reacts differently to the dyes. Some fibers take up dye differently that others. Subtle changes in the atmosphere (temperature, humidity) can affect the final outcome - much like baking a cake. Even how fast or slow I pour dyes into the kettle can affect the look of the final product.

And what yarn looks like in the dye pot is often different from the final washed and dried product. Wet yarn always reflects darker tones than dry yarn, so sometimes when I'm trying to dye subtle colors, I have a little panic time while the yarn is still in the pot and looking too vibrant.

It's all magic, and magic is FUN!

Happy Anniversary!!! Join me in celebrating!

I'm very excited about Dye Monkey Yarns first anniversary. Woooohoooo!

Starting this business, meeting so many wonderful new fiber fanatics, and exploring color and dyeing techniques has been an amazing experience, and I'm grateful to everyone who has joined me on this journey.

To celebrate, I have several special offerings.

First, and foremost, my entire Etsy shop is on sale! Please use coupon code: PARTY35 and you will receive 35% OFF any purchase now until May 31st.

Secondly, this offer is good for any custom orders initiated before May 31st. If there is a colorway you love that you'd like specific yardage for, or dyed to a specific base, please contact me via Etsy and we will arrange it.

Grand Prize Giveaway!
"Swimming Hole" on HipHop Monkey - 400 yards
Basket courtesy of Harbor House Baskets

Thirdly, there are GIVEAWAYS! (US and CANADA ONLY) 

I will be randomly announcing giveaways all month long, but the Grand Prize Giveaway is this fantastic collection including a coil fabric project basket, one full skein of "Swimming Hole" on HipHop Monkey, and Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy Johnson, valued at $78.00! (Doesn't that yarn co-ordinate beautifully with that basket! Wow!) No purchase necessary!

Want it? Here's how to enter:

Counts as one (1) entry each:

• Follow Dye Monkey Yarns on Instagram
• Favorite Dye Monkey Yarns Etsy Shop
• Follow Dye Monkey Yarns on Pinterest
• Repin your favorite Dye Monkey Yarn colorway on Pinterest and describe what project you'd knit or crochet with it (please, if you create a pin from anyplace other than my Pinterest board, email link to giveaway@dyemonkeyyarns.com so that I can count your entry.)
• Send me an email. You can say anything in your email. Congratulate me. Tell me what color you'd love to see in the future. Ask me a question. Make me an offer. Tell me you are deathly allergic to wool, but it all looks pretty. Tell me what you'll do with the prize if you win. Anything.

Counts as three (3) entries each:

• Post your favorite Dye Monkey yarn or this Giveaway to Instagram using @dyemonkeyyarns and tag two friends
• Post your Dye Monkey Yarns knit or crochet project photo to Pinterest - be sure to include "Dye Monkey Yarns" in the description so we can find your entry! (afraid you did it wrong or just want to be sure your entry is counted? Email link to giveaway@dyemonkeyyarns.com)

Counts as five (5) entries each:

• Publish a blog entry featuring Dye Monkey Yarns including a link to the Etsy shop and this blog post. Email blog link to giveaway@dyemonkeyyarns.com
• Include Dye Monkey Yarns in your podcast. Please include a link to the Etsy shop and this blog post in your show notes. Email podcast link to giveaway@dyemonkeyyarns.com

Giveaway is open to US and Canada only.  Winner will be chosen randomly from all entries, and contacted for shipping address. Prize will be shipped no later than June 6th. 

Podcasters/Bloggers working as teams/partners will need to sort the prize out amongst themselves.

Mojo Murderer

Sometimes you've got mojo, sometimes you don't, and sometimes it's taken from you. Welcome to my morning.

The plan of the day included some gardening, grocery shopping, reviewing yesterday's dyed goods, blogging and dyeing all.the.things., not necessarily in that order. The shopping and gardening was all good. The reviewing of yesterday's work was not.

Yesterday I worked on a custom order. I'm excited about the order. The customer and I have worked together to design a color for her that is destined for a sweater. I love that process. I get to be half of the creation of that garment in providing the supply. I thrill at seeing finished projects made with my yarn.

I wasn't thrilled when I reviewed this yarn. It's still on the drying rack, fresh from yesterday's process. Magic generally happens on the drying rack. Colors bloom there, developing into their final glory. Indeed, that happened in this case, however the end result wasn't what we were aiming for. There are inconsistencies from skein to skein outside of my acceptable "hand dyed" tolerance, and spots where dye simply didn't take up properly. I'm not 100% sure why this happened, but I'm 100% sure I'm not shipping this. I'm not happy with the end product.  Is there anything wrong with the yarn? No. Is there something wrong with the color? No. In fact, it's quite beautiful. It would honestly make a lovely sweater. Simply not this sweater for this person.

Reasonably, this disappoints me. My first response is to "fix it" but dyeing over in this case is not the answer. It won't make it better, only less consistent. My second response is to "do over" but, alas, I haven't got enough stock of one of the dyes to do so. (Interestingly enough, I placed that order yesterday, before knowledge of this disaster.) And, finally, my third response is "serve the customer" and so I did with a message honestly explaining the problem, my apologies, and the timeline upon which I can resolve the issue.

Still, this robbed me of my mojo. I had planned on spending several hours dyeing yarn today. Now, I have no desire to do so. Part of that is coming from my need to fix problems before moving on to other things. It's also in part to just plain being disappointed. I know at this point my mojo is gone and I would be forcing my creative process, which never ends well. Did I fail? No. Some part of the process did, and that happens. Yet, it still affects me.

So, what to do? Why, move the patio furniture out in to the sun and blog to you all from a leisurely posture. Let the process happen. Relax, wait for the stock order, regain the mojo and begin again fresh. I think instead of mixing dye, I'll mix up a fruity drink and work on some new design swatches instead.

How do you handle things when your mojo gets murdered? I'm always interested in learning how other creatives process.