Monthly Archives: December 2016

What do you get with A Year of Color?

Dyeing, Fiber, Knitting, Spinning, , ,

The Bam Huey 2017 Year of Color Fiber Club is about to begin!

Dreaming, Planning, Waiting for the Color Explosion of Bam Huey.
Dreaming, Planning, Waiting for the Color Explosion of Bam Huey.

I’ve extended the sales dates by special request until the end of the year.  Midnight New Years’ Eve is the absolute end of the sale prices.  This gives a chance for those of you who receive cash gifts for the holidays to get in on the huge discount on Bam Huey fiber!  Starting January 1st 2017 you can still buy into the club, but it is at full price except for a small discount on the One Month at a Time listing.

 

So, what do you get with a Year of Color???? Each month I will be developing a new colorway in my Bam Huey line, (60% Merino 40% Bamboo).   The colorway will come from  my monthly contribution to The Spinning Box.  On each Shop  listing  you can find a basic description of color and style of dyeing for the year.  Your fiber ships by the 10th of the month.  Each month I will spin samples of the colorway in several ways. About the 15th I will post pictures and details of how it was spun.  I will also knit samples as time allows to show you how differently each  yarn knits up.

This club isn’t about exclusive colorways, it is about giving you the best possible price on Bam Huey Fiber.  The only catch to getting the best price, is purchasing it here at New Hue Handspuns before the end of the year!

Here is an outline of a month’s posting using my latest colorway……

First off, a picture of the new colorway, this one I developed for The Spinning Box’s December box,  BollyWood.

BollyWood Colorway in Bam Huey
BollyWood Colorway in Bam Huey

This is where I would tell you the story of how I developed the colorway……..

then show the BollyWood spun 4 different ways…..

BollyWood spun 4 ways
BollyWood spun 4 ways

This is where I would explain how I used the fiber for 4 different results….

 

I’d probably throw in another drool worthy yarn picture  just for the heck of it….

BollyWood Spun 4 ways
BollyWood Spun 4 ways

Then I would show pictures of the samples knit up…….well hopefully mostly knit up as time allows….

Bam Huey in BollyWood Knit up!
Bam Huey in BollyWood Knit up!

Last but not least this is where I will tell how I knit each sample up and sometimes I will even have a free pattern to add 🙂

Come join me for Bam Huey 2017 Year of Color for a month or two, or take on the whole year, it promises to be an explosion in color!

Until next time,

Happy Spinning and Yarning,

Cheryl

Cheryl Needs a Studio!

Dyeing, H, Handspun Yarn, Knitting, Spinning, , , ,

I need a studio, well it’s more like a shed, but I will turn it into my studio.  As many of you know we are in the middle of a year long move into our New House.  One of the last things I have to have before we can complete the move is a studio for New Hue Handspuns. The house is simply too small to run my business in.  I’ve found a great solution.  It is a Hickory Shed.  There is dealer in Baker City that will deliver and set up a 10 x 20 pre-built shed with 2 windows, and door with window for just under $5,000.  The snow is falling and it will be spring before I can have the shed delivered.  Now I need to spend the next few months earning  $5,000.  The Hickory Shed company does have a nice rent to own program, but our life plan is to stay out of debt.  We have been debt free for 2 years and I would like to keep it that way!

Many discussions have surfaced regarding fair pay for artists. Most of these discussions end with “artists need to charge for their time and talent to make a living wage” and “but no one will pay that much for it”.  Today I have decided to take on the challenge of charging a fair price for my work.  I have been working on a knit shawl design for about 5 months.  I’ve written the pattern, test knit it, and will publish it on Ravelry soon.  This shawl is the result of that 5 months of work.

Going To The Gorge Shawl
Going To The Gorge Shawl

What better place to have a photo shoot for the Going to the Gorge than in the gorge!  We manage to sneak in a trip to The Gorge just before a real big snow/ice storm hits.  It was cold and windy so we had to be quick.  Here are a few more pictures.

Flying in the Gorge
Flying in the Gorge
wrapped up against the wind......
wrapped up against the wind……
Here comes the snow!
Here comes the snow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shawl has over 225 hours of work in to it.  It started out as ecru Bam Huey fiber that I spun for Spinzilla 2016.  About 16 hours/1,600 yard of 2 ply yarn from the Spinzilla yarn went into this project.

2nd Place Spinzilla 2016
2nd Place Spinzilla 2016

Designing and knitting the pattern took the majority of time.  It is impossible to count the design hours, because I’m thinking and working on the pattern all day long while I do other work along with the actual hours of writing the pattern.  Knitting time was well over 100 hours.  200 rows of any where from 400 to 588 stitches per row.

Going to the Gorge ala natural....
Going to the Gorge ala natural….

Hand painting the shawl was the final step…….12 hours of bending over this table and painting…….my back still hasn’t forgiven me for this…lol.

Hand painting done, waiting to go into the steamer
Hand painting done, waiting to go into the steamer

I used this picture to show the cramped and crowded basement space I’m working in…………now you know why I need a studio!!!!

Here is my challenge to you……. Help me get this shawl sold for a living wage, which in turn will help me purchase a studio!  Now I would be the first to say, “Sorry, I would love to help, but there is no way I can afford that,”  and that is true for so many of us.  I’m just asking that you pass the word along, you never know who knows someone, who knows someone,  who would love to own a one of a kind work of art, and have the means to support and invest in an artist’s lively hood.

The price………$4,288  where to see the details and purchase here at New Hue Handspuns

Now it is time for me to focus on the Bam Huey 2017 Year of Color Fiber club.  12 months of new colorways….check out the details HERE at New Hue Handspuns

Until next time,

Happy Spinning and Yarn-ing,

Cheryl