Back from a great show. What a joy to meet both new and repeat customers. I got positive feedback on my bamboo needles (I knew they were great, but nothing beats hearing that confirmed by new users!), enthusiastic stories from dyers who have taken the plunge and had a go and the Tales Knitting Smocks were well-received in London too. I'm working on more, summery colours and a "Spinning Pinafore".

After working through the orders I brought home from Olympia and sending those out, I worked on the design of my soon to arrive swing-tags. Made from environmentally friendly pulp-board, every hank will have its own swing-tag, complete with dye colour palette on the back and space to write the yarn content on the front. That's 2 frequent customer requests answered. Thing is: when I'm designing swing-tags, I'm not writing patterns. Or sorting out my newsletter. Or ordering more needles to restore my depleted stocks. The woes of being a fledgling little business; not enough hours in the day, but boy, am I still having fun!

Oh, and thanks Ralph for casting your professional eye on my swing-tag design and coaching me ever so patiently towards what I believe is a great result.

Sneak preview? Here they are, both front and back:

Like? The black dot in the corner is to position the hole that will have a piece of jute string through it. I hope you like it, I'm mighty proud of it.

Oh and before I forget: I managed to pick up my shawl-pin today. Bit of a story with this one: I first saw this shawl-pin on a shawl worn by Laura, who ambled onto my stand at the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate last November. I LOVED it, she had made it herself and I pleaded with her to make one for me. She did, it's here now and it's to die for on my Leafy-Lace Shoulder Shawl, my latest newest pattern. Which reminds me I STILL have to add a pattern page to my shop! Told you, not enough hours in the day! But, I digress…Laura, thank you so much, your pin and my Leafy Lace were meant for each other. I will be sure to feature it in my shop and anyone who sees it and covets it as much as I did when I first saw it just needs to let me know. Just remembered: I'm out of stock on most of Fyberspates Lace Silks. Better adjust that in the shop and order some more.

Right, enough already. This update is turning into an action list. Be back soon, I promise.

Oh dear, has this spinning craze got me. And it's got me good! Am dead-keen to start showing off my first results. Watch this space for pics. Have already finished my first scarf design especially suitable for small hanks of home-spun yarn, so it's only a matter of time before I start selling my first "each-is-a-one-off" kits!

Also in the process of sorting out my Newsletter software, so I will finally be able to send newsletters not just bursting with news, but looking good as well.

Be back soon…

After a sell-out success at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate, the Knitting Smock is about to make its debut on the site.
Also coming (hopefully also by Friday 11 Dec): new Fyberspates Silk Lace, Sock yarns and Cashmere, yum, yum!

Apologies to those ordering Fyberspates yarns from me and fishing behind the net; there was a setting on the site not working properly, which led to items that had sold out still showing as available. New stock is imminent though, so please check back in a couple of days.

Also coming soon: a selection of patterns, some for sale, some as free downloads and some for free with purchase of a particular yarn.

If you get fed up with my irregular blogs, please follow me on Twitter. I contribute regularly, as the on-the-hop quick messages seem to suit my flighty schedule.

The focus of the book is on different dyeing techniques to be used on animal fibres (plant fibres need a different dyeing process). Like Helen’s previous books, this book offers methods and techniques that are all executed at home, in your own kitchen. No need for any special equipment or dedicated space. The only things you have to buy are a hank of yarn and some dye. Everything else you’ll use will already be in your kitchen.
The book does not presume the reader to have any prior experience of dyeing yet it goes well beyond simple, basic dyeing techniques. As a result, more experienced dyers may also find that the ideas and techniques shown give them new insights.
The 8 dyeing chapters are then complemented by a chapter of 11 knitting patterns. The patterns range from very simple to quite advanced and all were chosen to showcase a particular dyeing technique.

Following below is the contents page of the book to give you an idea of the different techniques that are covered.

I FINALLY have a confirmed date for publication!

The books are arriving in the week of 7 September, so I’ll have them with me at iKnit.
The laser print mock up did its work at Fibrefest last week though; I took lots of pre-orders, so I’ve already got a pre-written stack of envelopes waiting to be stuffed as soon as I’ve got the books hot off the press.

I will add the option to pre-order the book to the shop. It’s a great offer, at £13 incl. postage. As soon as I’ve got the offer posted, I will also email the long list of people waiting to be notified that the book has arrived. You’ll all have ample time to pre-order the book at this special price.

In the meantime, the Summer has flown by. The kids are back to school later this week. I feel as ambivalent as ever about this. On the one hand, I love having them around me, on the other hand it’s so much more of a struggle to find the time to keep all the plates spinning, especially on the work-front. The site desperately needs updating, I’ve been promising people the option to buy patterns online for ages and the free pattern section is still not there.

Still, onwards and upwards; I am counting the days to have the books and be able to sell them at iKnit and see them reveiwed in some of my favourite knitting magazines.

I’m also trying to add my regular Twitter messages on this Blog. I seem to Twitter much more often than blog. I’m sure that says something about me, just not sure if I want to know what…

 …and I’m in the middle of a mad scramble to get ready for a holiday in France. Got my orders for more stock placed, so should have plenty of everything in time for Fibrefest. I am feeling very bad about the lack of attention I’ve paid to the website. It desperately needs updating, I know, there are more kits to add, and pictures, and Knit-pro needles. And I now also have a small range of circular bamboo needles that go down to a smaller size (2 mm) than the Knit-Pro interchangeables. And you cannot find any of them on the site yet. Must do better once I’ve re-charged my batteries. Of course I’d love to think that I’ll make these additions before we set off, but the reality is most probably going to be very different, with the next 48 hours swishing by in a blur.

I am spending a last session tomorow with the book designer making the last last changes before everything will finally go off to the printer. I should at least have one complete copy at Fibrefest and printed books in time for iKnit. Fingers crossed. For those of you who read this in advance of their own holidays, have a great time. Bring plenty of works-in-progress (socks are good, as they’re not too big and cumbersome) – which reminds me, I’d better whip up a couple of small dye batches tomorrow, to dye some last minute hanks to bring along…

Cannot think of a better way to summarise my last couple of weeks. Wonderwool was great; what a buzz. Then I spent a week with our daughter in the US, visiting family and spending some quality time together, away from younger brothers (life-saving when you usually have to share your mum with 2 loud 7yr olds).  No time for jet lag after our Monday return, because today was the formal brief of the book designer, followed by a full day photo shoot tomorrow. It’s all taking shape, there’s still lots of work to be done but it’s also incredibly exciting. In the meantime, if my shop is giving you any headaches, don’t hesitate to drop me a line (linda.deruiter@tiscali.co.uk). I’d love to hear from you. I promise to order any out of stock itrems this week, in time for Ravelry Day and Woolfest in June, both hurtling towards us with frightening speed. Hope to see you there!

Wonderwool was such a joy; I love these shows and got lots of positive feedback again on the kits. Even some kit-buyers promising to come find me at Woolfest in June to show me the results of their efforts; I am really looking forward to that!

In the meantime, we are going full throttle on finishing our work on the book. Editing the last pages, briefing the illustrator, meeting with the designer and having scheduled a full day photoshoot, I am now knitting the last design… I won’t know what to do with myself (wishful thinking!) once the pressure of looming deadlines eases off. I am about to spend a week together with my girl, awa from her little brothers, some quality mother-and-daughter time. We did this last year and both enjoyed it so much that we vowed to repeat it if possible. So, at the start of the year I booked the time, thinking the book would be finished by now (oh, the naivity of inexperience…). Litle did I know I’d be juggling like mad by now to fit everything around it. And then came the Swineflu panic at the start of the week, nearly crossing our plans (which include some flying). Part of me was very sad, part of me was calculating how much extra work I’d be able to get done if my week away was to be replaced by a no-meetings-scheduled week at home.

On the website front, I’ve finally managed to add the 6 new colours to the kits, so you are no longer restricted to the colour combinations of the first 6 colours in the range. And I’ve added more different undyed yarns, so if you’re after any of the yarns I showed at Wonderwool, they’re in the shop now (not all with pictures, but hey, one hank of undyed yarn looks pretty much the same as the next one; I cen’t picture the feel of them unfortunately. Fingers crossed it all works when ordering. Do let me know if it doesn’t.

Somehow, I manage to Twitter a lot more than I blog. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com and look for Tall Yarns (of course!).

I received my first edited book pages last week. What a ride. I’ve never "been edited" before; or at least not by a professional…

Turns out that my use of exclamation marks, capitals and lots of dots is rather over the top… well, I’m a self-confessed drama queen after all. And I thrive on pressure (adrenalin junkie as well, yes). So true to form I find myself losing sleep over the fact that the site is still not updated, my stand banner still not painted, and my list of must-knit items steadily growing. So here I am on Tuesday morning well before 7 am, computer buzzing, in an attempt to catch up with myself, despite the Easter school holidays. P’s off to Sweden (I’m envious; I love Sweden) so I’m relatively housebound unless I come up with some thrilling kids’ excursions. But we’ve just spent a day at the Hawk Conservancy near Andover  (please all go, and then decide to join as a member once you are there; you will not regret it) and our eldest is lining up an array of sleepovers this week. That’s all the excuses I need to get on with my work, so P’s early departure soon propelled me out of bed. I must admit that the clear blue sky helped as well, together with the radio 4 weather forecast, promising warm weather. Hurray, Summer’s on its way!

Four days of talking to other knitters, sharing stories, explaining about dyeing yarn yourself, coo-ing over the softest chunky yarn I’ve ever felt and coming home with lots of email addresses to contact once the book is out. I’m thrilled by your enthusiasm, support, compliments and encouragement. I’ll be adding everything I had at the show (some of which you cannot see in the shop yet) to the shop pages. If you miss anything, please do shout.

I will also add a new page called Tips, Tricks and Freebies, where I’ll start publishing exactly that. First in line is an easy pattern for bottom-up socks with a short-row heel, which is an easy alternative to the more common heel-flap-and-gusset.

Although I was sleeping wewell after the first 3 show days, I found myself tossing and turning last night, mind whirring with ideas and inspiration to make my dauntingly massive stand at Wonderwool work as best as I can (given that I’m on my own and by myself for the duration…) I love the challenge of it and have more ideas than I can probably execute, but who cares, I’m having a blast. If you can, do come and see me there or at any of the others shows where I’ll be this year. I’ll keep updating the list on the home page of my site. For now, see you all again soon and roll on Wonderwool!