A little yarn, a little dye.

So today I ordered some new supplies for the classroom from my old friends at Dharma. Dharma Trading Company has been my supplier of all things dye related since I started out as an undergraduate and had to order my first "blanks."  It's a hippy outfit in California, and they claim very clean monkeys will be packing my order when I get my confirmation emails.  When I ask for extra catalogues for the students, I always get a nice note from a real person, telling me whether or not they can send them, or with a due date on when the new catalogue is coming out (March, 2009, BTW.) Over the years they have grown and diversified and are now probably one of two places most professional-type textiles people go for dye (the other being ProChem in MA) but they're my main source for dyeable fabrics and such, because their inventory is really gigantic at this point.  

Today I thought to check out their dye ready yarns. This was a very small selection last time I looked, and since KnitPicks has unbeatable pricing on their "Bare" line, I'd not thought to look further until today. Well, I was amazed. They've got not only wool and cotton but a bunch of clever blends and intriguing options. They also have undyed Brown Sheep Lambs Pride, which is the number one favorite yarn for the felting crowd. It's not super economical, but with the options, I might have to break down and try out some "Licorice Twist" which claims to be all wool, but with one strand that will take the dye differently than the others.  I'm all about the two effects in one step process.  I'll be sure to post my results so you can see what comes of it. 

In other news... two of the three baskets from "Three Baskets I made in Fall 2008" are on the road. Lazy Amphora is off to Minneapolis for the Web and Flow show, and then Elk Cove is going to Wichita for National Fiber Directions.  Both shows put my work in good company and I feel pretty lucky right now!  My mom pointed out I didn't say how big they were. The answer is, they're small.  Lazy Amphora is about 6 inches tall. Elk Cove is about 8 inches tall and a foot wide at its largest spread. (So much for putting all my eggs in either of them.  Guess I'll have to make some more!)  Thank you to the kind facebook friends who commented so positively on the three I've shown you so far. Let's all hope the next bunch is as good, or dare I hope, even better.