After several pithy comments to Erynn about her lack of blog updates, she cheerfully declared that writing the blog should be my job. I am of the school of thought that one shouldn’t complain about something that they have the power to change…unfortunately I don’t have the ability to stop complaining, therefore I am morally obliged to write in this blog.  It’s a Catch-22 really and so now you are going to be subjected to my ramblings.

First, a little background info on myself-My name is Caroline Dick and I am a spinner and knitter originally from Saltspring Island which is a Mecca for spinners and weavers.  I am also the President of the Kamloops Arts Council.  I am currently fully enamored with spinning and knitting.  Originally I started knitting as a vehicle to justify my spinning, but have recently become addicted to knitting.  I blame this largely on Erynn, owner and operater of Twist Of Fate.  Her huge selection of yarn has sucked me into the blackhole of knitting-I see yarns that make me think “Wow, that would make a great scarf!” or “I want socks that look like that!” and who is going to make them for me?  No one, so I am forced to knit, at first this was a long suffering process but as my abilities increase, I actually enjoy it.  It’s also a great excuse to catch up on all the movies that I have been wanting to see…

Even worse, is the plethora of spinning fibres…Good Lord…the selection is dizzying and heady…and absolutely purely evil.  You feel like you have restraint until you stop in and Erynn says “Oooh…you would like this…” and opens up a bag of Silk/Yak fibre in the most amazing hand dyed shade of Midnight Blue.  She has the most amazing memory for your preferences and has some kind of evil psychic retail super power, which she has no compunctions about using.  She knows what you want, and she’ll make you look at it, touch it, and want it.  Most recently a massive selection of Hand Dyed Alpaca Top and Laceweight Alpaca Yarn is now available in an incredible array of colours.  I have been to Twist of Fate at least a dozen times and every time I have been there I have seen something new.  Which is awful for impulse buying.

If you live near Kamloops and do anything that involves the fibre arts and have not been to Twist of Fate you are missing out on a truly fantastic (and pocketbook shrinking) experience.

Stay tuned for further update, rambles, and pontifications into the evilness of Erynn…

On wednesday morning, bright and early I will be leaving for the coast to get set up for the Gibson’s Landing Fibre Arts Festival.  I have been busy, busy getting ready for this and managed to dye about 70 lots of yarn this weekend.  I even found the time to add several of them to the website.  Though most I will be taking with me to Gibsons.

The  shop will be open while I’m gone, my mother has kindly offered to watch things for me.  She doens’t know a lot about yarn, so be patient with her if you stop by.

The coolest thing I got this week?

these drop spindles here

I have only added two to the website right now, I’m taking the rest with me to Gibsons, but if any of them come back with me I’ll put them up when I get home

They whorls are made of hand pured resin and I’ve got a few different types, different metallc swirly irridescent ones and then others with things embedded in the resin, like a dragon, or some butterflies.  I’m so excited to have them in!

I also got a box full of some really nice yarn samples in the mail and I can’t wait to get some ordered in.

Especially this stuff here, Vero, it’s so gorgeous. I kind of want it NOW, although I’m not sure yet what I want to make with it

there is also a line of angora/merino and another of cashmere/merino that I’m pretty drooly over.

I keep thinking of all the things I want to write in the blog, but I just haven’t seemed to manage it.

I’ve been very busy lately dyeing silk and silk blends.  I’ve added about 30 skeins of hand dyed lace yarn in silk blends, silk and camel, silk and yak, silk and angora, silk and wool, silk and bamboo and just straight silk to the website.  With more to come this week.  Plus I’ve got lots and lots of silk blend fibres dyed up and waiting to get listed.

Plus I’m getting ready for the Gibson’s Landing Fibre Arts Festival which is coming up REALLY fast.  I’ve never been to this particular show before so I’m really excited to check it out.  I’ve decided not to take any classes this year.  I took the supported spindle class and Olds, which was incredible, but it’s just too hard to try and do the merchant thing and the student thing.  So no classes for me this time.  The shop will be open here in the ‘loops while I’m gone, my mom has said she’ll watch things for me….she doesn’t knit so I hope she does okay!

Both my Waves in the Square Shawl and my Bluegrass Shawl are coming along nicely, though I haven’t had much time to knit lately and hope to get to it tonight.  If I get a chance this afternoon I will take a couple pictures of my progress so far so I can show them off.

And I WILL get the August newsletter up by tomorrow, I really, really will.

I love Ravelry.

We all love Ravelry right?

to that end I just ordered these for the store.

so if you come by the shop, or place an order online, or visit me at Gibsons Landing, or the Cowichan Fleece and Fibre Fair, or just about anywhere and tell me you’re from Raverly and what your Rav name is you get one, just because.

Don’t you want a button?

It’s been a busy week around here, I can hardly believe it’s already Friday! I’ve spent A LOT of time editing photos so that I can add new products to the website, and I anticipate lots and lots of this still to come.

But I’ve also had a chance to meet some lovely local, and non-local knitters and spinners and to change things up a bit in the shop. I know I know I’ve been open a week what am I changing already?

I just had to add this

a nice comfy chair and a winding station with a swift and ballwinder so that anyone can leave with yarn ready to knit!

I’m working on a few more chairs too, once I make a space to move the looms to so there’s a little more room. I really hope to get a weekly spin/knit/crochet/whatever circle up and running by mid august hopefully sooner. Basically as soon as I have the furniture!

I’ve been knitting a lot in the evenings too. I started in on the Waves in the Square shawl by Sivia Harding out of the yarn you can see on the swift in the winding station picture. However it didn’t take me long to figure out that this one takes too much attention to knit in front of the TV, for me anyway so now I have two (new) projects on the go. The Waves in the Square which I work on in the mornings before opening the shop and the Bluegrass Shawl by Barb Brown from Wild Geese Fibres that I’m knitting out of a firey orange laceweight lambswool that I can do in the evenings. Well and there’s also the triangle shawl I’m weaving out of Ashford Tekapo yarn when I feel like it.

I know what you’re thinking, you’re wondering what I’m going to do with all of these shawls once they’re done. Well Uli from Sparkles and Fuzz / Creations by Uli stopped by today on her way through town and in addition to a having a lovely visit I managed to pick a few more of her shawl pins for the shop since I was running low with more of her fabulous bookmarks and chainmail (which I’m also running low on) coming soon.

coming soon….

prints and pendants by Janice Blaine of Painter’s Block Studio I know it’s not yarn but I just love her work so much I have to share it with the world.

That’s right today is my first real, honest to goodness day open for business with regular hours and everything! I flew out to Calgary Sunday morning after the opening, then home this morning so I’m too tired to write much that’s very clever but I do have lots of pictures.

If you stopped by for the grand opening on Saturday you probably entered the draw for one of these doorprizes, maybe you even won one?

some of my favourite of the new hand dyed yarns (because I’m always a sucker for the silk)

As usual Laz was guarding the door

or trying to help me weave

So everything seems to be pretty much in order for the big opening tomorrow. All the boxes are unpacked and put away on shelves and other pretty display racks, the opening day specials are printed up, as are sheets of upcoming classes. I only have about 20 skeins to finish lableing and a few new codes to program into the cash register and it’s all good to go.

I even managed to pull off a housewarming party tonight (and sell some silk cocoons in the process), I’m just that good!

Just to wet your appetite here is some of the new fabulousness

Some incredible hand dyed alpaca from Alice at Alpaca Plus

and a whole bunch of Tekapo yarns from Ashford that just arrived yesterday!

So I’m home after yet another fabulous year at Olds Fibre Week.

For the first time in awhile I actually made the time to get in a class this year and took the supported spindle workshop with Caroline Sommerfeld.  As always Caroline is a genius, and an amazing teacher.  I came away not only with a grasp of how to spin amazing short fibres off the tip of a supported spindle, but also with a new Tabachek Spindle of my very own and a pile of fibre calling my name. (It doesn’t hurt that I managed to walk away from the silent auction with some incredible dyed organic cotton either).

Other than the one class the merchant mall kept me pretty busy and I had a chance to reconnect with lots of groovy fibre people and meet some new ones too.  I even have houseguests lined up already. WOW.

The silk spin-in was, in my humble opinion a raging success, and I like to think at least a few people walked away with an enthusiasm for silk they didn’t have before.

While I’m already thinking about stuff for next year I will be busy busy for the next little while, setting up for the Grand Opening, getting ready for regular store hours and also getting ready for the Gibson’s Landing Fibre Festival which isn’t really all that far away.

On one final note, I made sure I remembered to take my camera with me to Olds, but I forgot to take any pictures.  If anyone has any pics of the merchant mall, the fashion show, Lucy’s talk, or the spin-in that they’d like to share that would be AWESOME.

We’re just settling in here, please pardon our dust and come again soon!

-Twist of Fate Yarns