What's New for January 2009 !?

We have been busy working hard to get ready for the trade show (TNNA) in January. At that time we are planning to introduce several new things!! We thought we would give those who read our blog a description of what will be new in your yarn store sometime soon.

1. Harmony Colors Series
This will be an ongoing series of colorways, available in all yarn styles (call first about cashmere as we may limit the offerings on that yarn). These colors flow from one to the other in a more subtle way. They are not solids but they don't have any high contrast between colors either. We have 5 ready to introduce:
Harmony Rose- rose flowing to cranberry
Harmony Mist- wintergreen to frosty blue
Harmony Lake- dark turquoise to peacock teal
Harmony Iris- purple to deep blue
Harmony Woods- dark coppery brown to plum

Ask about them at your local shop....if they don't have a chance to attend TNNA they won't have seen them first hand.

2. Silk'n Ewe
This is a new 50% wool/50% raw silk blend. It is a DK weight yarn (a bit lighter than our 4/8's wool but not by much) and when knit up it feels like raw silk. It is very fun because the silk in the yarn lightens the colors in the dyeing process. We are putting this into 75 gm, 250 yard skeins. We are going to dye this in all of our colorways!

Sorry we will have no pictures available until after TNNA!!

Enjoy the holiday season and remember January is "Knit for Yourself" month!!

Sock Contest Entries

Have you turned in your "Think Outside the Sox" contest entries yet? For contest rules go to the Think Outside the Sox website. The deadline is Jan 1st, 2009. Diana and I will be judging the Mountain Colors category while we are at Stitches West 2009 and we look forward to all of your entries. And lets face it...the $6000 grand prize would be pretty nice to win!!!



Will your sock be knit from the toe up? From the cuff down? From some other direction? What interesting stitch pattern might you include? You still have plenty of time to design that pair of socks!! So get out the double pointed needles...or use the magic loop method and cast on with some Bearfoot yarn so you don't miss out on the chance for those BIG cash prizes.

Leslie's Holiday Knitting

Almost every year I tell myself that I will NOT do any last minute knitting for gifts. And almost every year I get last minute inspiration from something I've seen or read. This year is no different. For me this year it is cowls. I like wearing them; I like knitting them and I hope my gift recipients will like them too.



I am on Ravelry and I found patterns that would work with my favorite Mountain Colors Yarns. A cowl needs to be made with something soft and not scratchy so I chose Twizzle for my Darkside Cowl (this link may only work if you are a member of Ravelry) knit in Sapphire Trail; I chose 4/8's Wool in Alpine for one Birthday Cowl and Rich Red for the second one. I am thinking of knitting a fourth cowl also in Rich Red as it's such a festive color.

If you need a quick gift idea a skein of Twizzle or a skein of 4/8's Wool would be enough to make at least 2 cowls. I haven't knit three with one color so I don't know for sure if that would work. So get those needles out, start scanning the internet for patterns and start knitting with your favorite Mountain Colors Yarn!

Holiday knitting inspirations

As always this time of year, I start planning my last minute knitting projects for the folks on my holiday gift list. This year is no different. Some of the ideas I have been considering are the Homespun Throw, the Fairisle Mittens and several cowls (patterns downloaded from Ravelry) knit in Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool.

The Homespun Throw is very fast and easy to knit but the results are stunning. Last Fall Diana made 3 different throws for folks on her holiday list. The pattern calls for 3 skeins of Homespun Wool/Silk but on one of her throws she used an extra skein of yarn to make a larger throw. This yarn comes in ALL of our colorways and makes a wonderful gift.


The Fairisle Mittens use a colorway for the background and a Solitary solid cream color for the pattern stitch. This could easily be reversed for another fun look. These are knit in Mountain Colors Mountain Goat but our 4/8's Wool would also work.

For a cowl I am planning to use our 4/8's wool if worsted weight is used in the downloaded patterns or our Weavers Wool if a finer yarn is needed. I think I could make several of these before it's time to ship my packages.

I'm off to start knitting. How about you??

Sweater Season has arrived!!!

Autumn is my favorite time of year. I like the cooler weather, the warm cast to the light in the sky, the changing color of the leaves and especially the fact that it is sweater weather. Here in Western Montana it is now officially time to unpack the sweaters for the season!!

During the summer on a long car ride I was able to finish most of a sweater. The pattern I used was our Back to Basics Shaped Pullover. I am so pleased with the results. I knit it using our Twizzle yarn and it was quick to knit, comfortable to wear and very soft. Of course I used my favorite colorway (Red Willow) and that makes me want to wear it ALL the time!!







If you haven't seen our Back to Basics patterns check them out and if you haven't used our Twizzle yarn I highly recommend it! It is my new favorite yarn.

Happy knitting,
Leslie

New Duets Project

Summer has been a blur of activity here in Montana. We had perfect weather and NO smoke from forest fires. Yeah. We have been dyeing lots of yarn to prepare for the release of our latest Duets project in conjunction with Lorna's Laces.
This project is a vest designed by Ginger Luters and is called the Tuscany Vest. You can order these through your local yarn shop. If they haven't heard of this kit have them call us!! It is brand new!

The color of this vest is not coming through correctly and I can't seem to fix it. The vest comes in a choice of color combinations...Rust, Browns, Blue/Greens or Purples. This photo is suppose to be of the purple combo. Maybe it's just my monitor....!! Check out the Mountain Colors website www.mountaincolors.com for more information on all of the Duets projects and a better version of this photo.

Happy knitting,
Leslie

New Yarns are shipping!!

Summer is FINALLY in full swing here in Montana. We had snow the second week of June and it has slowly been warming up since then. Today we are forecast to hit 100. Our dyers have been dyeing like crazy and we've been shipping out the new Winter Lace and RiverTwist yarns to many yarn shops. Be sure to check with your local store to see if they've ordered and/or received their yarn yet.



Don't forgot to check out the Duets projects we are doing in conjunction with Lorna's Laces. The shrug has been very popular and the sock kit is a crazy design by Cat Bordhi. Later in August there will be a vest designed by Ginger Luters!

Our website is in the process of being re-done so some of the newest yarns and colors aren't online yet. Our website designer is hoping for mid-July. Sorry for any problems this may cause you.

For those who are flooding in the midwest and burning up in California our sympathies are with you. We can relate too well with the folks experiencing lots of smoke from wildfires as we seem to have them every year around here. Luckily this year, despite high snow levels, our rivers did not have any drastic flooding. Mother Nature seems very grouchy lately.

I have switched to small projects as it is too hot here to have a huge sweater on my lap. We live in an area where not many folks have air conditioning (including me) so we have to try and stay cool in other ways....dipping in the local river or lake, sitting in the cool basement, sitting in front of a fan, etc. I hope all of you are having a good summer so far and happy knitting to all!!

Our New Lace Weight Yarn--"Winter Lace"

We have recently started shipping our new lace weight yarn, Winter Lace!! Ask about it at your local yarn store. Some may not yet even know about it as our trade show, TNNA, is this weekend and we will be displaying it there for the first time. It's 50% Wool, 50% Silk and it's lovely. The put up is just under 4oz, 1200 yards.


Winter Lace comes in 10 of our colorways:
Chinook
Crazy Woman
Deep Blue (a solitary solid)
Marias Falls
Mountain Twilight
Red Tail Hawk
Red Willow
Ruby River
Sierra
Wild Horse (a new for 2008 colorway)

We have had lots of requests for a yarn like this so hopefully everyone will be pleased with this beautiful new yarn. I have never knit any lace and I am ready to start something so I can try out this incredible, lightweight yarn!!

Happy knitting to all.

Getting Ready for LOTS of new things

Well we haven't been very good about posting in the past month. But we have a REALLY good reason!! We have been preparing to introduce our new designs, 5 new colorways, 2 new types of yarn, the spinning fiber (I mentioned that before), and the second in the Duets series with Lorna's Laces. Whew.

Our photo session was last week and when we woke up that morning it was snowing. That made for a VERY cold photo shoot. We had two college gals modeling and they were frozen by the end of the 4+ hours it took to take all the photos.






Encourage you local yarn shop to inquire about our latest yarns. One is a merino wool with an incredible mixing of colors. The other is a wool/silk lace weight yarn. Warm up your spinning wheels and get ready to try out the targhee top we have been selling too. Targhee is a breed of sheep and it produces a very soft, lofty fiber.

Our second Duets project will begin shipping to yarn stores next week. It is a sock kit designed by Cat Bordhi and it uses yarn from both Mountain Colors and Lorna's Laces. Check it out!!

For those headed to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival this weekend have a blast. I would LOVE to go to that show sometime...I grew up in Maryland but left before that show became so popular.

Happy knitting, spinning, crocheting, etc!!

Spin some top

Are you a spinner? We have recently started shipping Targhee wool top to various shops across the country. Targhee wool is VERY soft and very easy to spin. We are dyeing it in 10 (maybe more as we get things rolling) of our colorways and it is bundled in 4 ounce "skeins". The following colorways are currently available:
* Alpine
* Chinook
* Crazy Woman
* Firestorm
* Indian Corn
* Lupine
* Meadow
* Moccasin Trail (new!)
* Northern Lights
* Ruby River

So check out this new Mountain Colors product and go spin some top!!

Interview with Stash and Burn

While at Stitches West, Diana and I were invited to do an interview with Jenny and Nicole who host the podcast "Stash and Burn", www.stashandburn.com . It's our first ever online interview and it was a lot of fun. We are in Episode 48 at about minute 14:40. Check it out and let us know what you think.

For those of you who don't know about podcasts, they are digital voice recordings of folks talking about their favorite subject. There are podcasts about every topic imaginable. Of course Stash and Burn is about yarn and knitting...our favorite topic. You can listen to podcasts on your computer or you can upload them to your MP3 player and listen while you exercise, knit, drive, etc. They are VERY fun. There are actually quite a few knitting related podcasts. If you haven't tried them before I highly recommend giving them a try!

Happy knitting!

Stitches West excitement

WOW! The excitement of everyone at last week's Stitches West show was amazing. Over 8000 people attended and MANY of them stopped at our booth to say Hi and to get a stamp on their Ravelry Passport game.



Our Stitches Booth

It was so fun to see projects made with our yarn, meet folks who had never seen some of our types of yarn and to feel the buzz about the XRX sock contest announced on Feb 21st. Check out their website thinkoutsidethesox.com for information about all the different contest categories. Mountain Colors is helping sponsor this event and we have two categories for all of you sock designers. The cash prizes are large!! We hope many of you enter!!

Our Duets shrug kit (yarn from Mountain Colors and yarn from Lorna's Laces) was fondled and admired by many of the folks passing our booth at Stitches. Folks checked out the lace stitch pattern and tried it on. It looks so beautiful on many different body types! These are available through May.

It has taken me several days to recover from the go-go-go pace of the show but things are back to normal now. We have had lots of stores sign up to be Socks Hot Spots for the sock contest (see above) and they should all be stocked with Bearfoot yarn before too long because we have been dyeing that yarn like crazy.

Happy knitting to all!!

Early Morning Departure

Well two weeks have passed in a blur since our last post. We have been busy getting ready for our 5 days at Stitches plus dyeing LOTS of yarn for all the orders coming in. Everyone must be knitting like crazy!!

One of the joys of living in western Montana is the limited airline service. There are generally, on a given airline, two flights out a day. Sooooo tomorrow we have to be at the airport by 5am and we live an hour from the airport. I am afraid to calculate how early I have to set the alarm clock!! Yikes. But I look forward to seeing all the folks who will be at Stitches and I hope everyone else will be reading the numerous online postings from folks at the show.

Be on the lookout for the Sock contest being announced by XRX on the 21st. We will post a link to the special website when we return from the show next week. There will be all sorts of sponsors and categories for various types of socks. We are one of the sponsors so we will get to help judge the socks next year at the end of the contest!!

I am off to pack my suitcase! Happy knitting!!!

Triangle Scarf Pattern

Here is the pattern for a Triangle Scarf that uses Mountain Colors Mohair and an optional skein of Moguls. Enjoy!!

Materials: 1 skein Mountain Colors Mohair
1 skein Mountain Colors Moguls (opt)
Needles- size 10.5 and size 13 for bind off

Cast on 3 sts in Mohair. Knit 1 row.
Pattern row: *Knit 2 sts, yo, knit to end*

If using optional Moguls yarn, change back and forth between the two yarns after every second row (ie. 2 rows Mohair, then 2 two rows Moguls).

Repeat pattern row until scarf is desired size or until you have 6 to 10 yards of Mohair left for the bind off. Then using size 13 needles, bind off LOOSELY in mohair.

To wear, pull one tip through the 4th or 5th hole up from the other tip.

Come see us at Stitches West!!!

For those of you fortunate enough to be attending Stitches West be sure to stop by and see us!!! We will be in the Sponsors section of the show in booth 220. We are alloted a very small space so we can't bring everything but we plan to bring a display that shows all of our colors in one spot!!

We are looking forward to meeting lots of folks and seeing all the fun garments at the two fashion shows. Bring your Mountain Colors projects to show us!!

Happy knitting!!

Our NEW Colorful Relationship

Hi!

We are back from the TNNA trade show in Long Beach and wanted to share a new project we are beginning. We are going to have a year long series of kits...a new one each quarter...that combine our yarn with yarn from Lorna's Laces. This idea was well received by the yarn shop owners attending the trade show and they were excited about the idea that knitters could try yarns from both companies all in one project.

The first kit will be shipped to stores as of February 1st and will be a beautiful shrug that combines our Half Crepe with Helen's Lace from Lorna's Laces. It is available in 5 color combinations (our yarn colorways will be Ruby River, Chinook, Evergreen, Yellowstone and Moondance and these will combine with coordinating yarn from Lorna's).







The beginning of May we have a sock kit designed by Cat Bordhi, then the third quarter we will have a vest designed by Ginger Luters. The fourth project is still in the works.

We hope you love this shrug as much as we do!! It is soft, full of drape, light weight and elegant!!

Pictures of Mountain Colors and a question at the end...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was great...both of my sons were home from college and we had a nice visit with them. Since I had the camera memory card out at the computer I thought I would post some pictures of things at Mountain Colors. For those with dial-up service this may be a bit slow to load....























We have been given the opportunity to purchase organic wool for dyeing. It would be the same gauge as our Weavers' Wool yarn, would NOT be a superwash and it would probably be dyed in organic dyes. Would anyone be interested in this yarn?? We would love to hear from you about this before we decide to jump in. We are also going to poll the shop owners we talk to at the trade show next week. Don't be shy!!! Let us hear from you!!