Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Home Stretch

Blargh.... I have five more skeins left to dye for the Gradients update and my feet feel like bloody stumps. :P

Tomorrow will be a very long day re-skeining 50 hanks. Joy. This would never have been possible if not for Rae. Thank beer that she is here to help! Therefore... This update brought to you by the goddess Rae.

I'm very curious to see what the response will be to the gradients version of "PtRR". For those of you not familiar with this colorway (BWAHAHAHHAH!) "Painting the Roses Red" originally debuted as a graduate. Here is an awesome example of how it knits up.

photo credits: Hrvdmnky on Ravelry.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Gradients Progress

I am finally able to start dyeing the gradients. I've been sick for the past week (compliments of my children, or as Gherkin would say, "belly fruit"). Because it was sinus and bronchial related, I abstained from dyeing as the chemical fumes would only exacerbate things. :/ Anyway, I have "Legion, For We Are Many" and"Jack-o-Lantern" dyeing up today. Originally, these colorways debuted as graduated, but I'm trying my hand at making a gradient version of them for the first November update. Gradients differ from graduates in the way that they are dyed and will therefore knit up differently. Also, the gradients are twin skeins in sock weight so that they can worked up as two matching pairs of projects, or combined and alternated to make a larger project. Below are two examples in other gradient colorways.

Here is an example of "Calypso", photo rights: LauraB on Ravelry:

And here is an example of "Darkness Falls", photo rights: Deianara-Crush on Ravelry


Monday, October 31, 2011

Mitts for Susan!


Mitts for Susan
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
I was honored to have been commissioned to make a custom pair of fingerless mitts for cast member Susan Slaughter of the hit TV show "Ghost Hunters, International." Check out the recent episodes and let me know if you spot the mitts! :)

Black Orchid


Black Orchid
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
New Colorway inspired by the song of the same name by Blue October. This colorway is a gradient

Into the Ocean


Into the Ocean
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
New Colorway inspired by the song of the same name by Blue October. This colorway is a gradient

Heroes & Villains


Heroes & Villains
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
New Colorway. Bold and bright hues of violet and lime for this new edition of the Flotsam & Jetsam series

You'll Get Sand In Your Clam Basket (aka Clam Basket)

New Colorway! This colorway was created by Rae! Inspired by her words of advance on why NOT to have sex on the beach ;)

Ugly Side


Ugly Side
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
New Colorway: Ugly Side

Inspired by the Blue October song of the same name.

Happy Happy Joy Joy Self-Striping Colorway


HHJJ
Originally uploaded by squib stitcher
New colorway:

Happy Happy Joy Joy. Inspired by the iconic cartoon: "Ren & Stimpy".

The Springwood Slasher (SS) MCN Sock

New colorway!

"The Springwood Slasher" is the new Halloween colorway for 2011. Inspired by the character Freddy Krueger's sweater, it's a self-striping colorway in murky shades of olive and blood red.

Face Lift!

Hi All,

So... in an act of procrastination and because I am riddled with the plague (thank you, offspring), I decided to revamp the blog. I am so crap at maintaining this thing, but I think if I can get Rae to help, then maybe this will change. ;)

I added some pages to the top. Not all pages are there yet; there will be more over time. But at this point, some basic and helpful info can be accessed more easily. Be sure to drop a comment and let me know what you think of the changes and what you would like to see added.

This year has been very very busy. My Mythos series took up a big part of the year with 1,250+ skeins dyed for the "armfuls" and "samplers". It was a great success thanks to all of my loyal clientele. I just finished the last batch and mailed them out last week.

Two other major events for Cauldron were the launch of the new shop and the addition of Rae to the FFtC team. FFtC is no longer on Etsy and has it's very own website. I am very happy with the new site. There are a few bugs that needed to be worked out and it's still not perfect, but on the whole, I think it's a success. And having Rae on the payroll to help out now has been a godsend. The shop's productivity has increased significantly and this would not have been able to happen without her.

Additionally, I was able carry out a successful club that was inspired by one of my all-time favorite movies: "The Princess Bride". The club was called "Inconceivable," and consisted of 8 colorways inspired by characters from the film dyed on the silk sock base, as well as coordinating patterns.

This summer, Dreaming Pickle Pot (a collab group consisting of the indie dyers: Dreams in Fiber, Gherkin's Bucket, and FFtC) launched our first annual club: Every Decade Has a Diva. Each installment is inspired by a historical figure that defied convention and thus acquired a form of "diva" status. The club started with 1900-1909 and will continue each year with three decades showcased at a time in chronological order. Our next installment will pick up where we left off with the '30s-'50s in July 2012. More info on this can be found on the In the Works page.

Gradients were also introduced this year. This is a new base/technique that features 2 matching skeins of fingering weight yarn that are dyed to progress from one hue to the next with no repeats. The next shop update will feature all gradients. The date of the next update is still TBD.

Finally, there have been several new colorways (excluding club colorways) that debuted this year. All of these colorways have been added to production and will become regular staples.


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

What's Happenin'?


Lots of new, crazy and exciting things taking place for FFtC. :)

I am in the process of developing a new colorway series based on Greek Mythology and legends. As of now, there will be ten colorways to debut over the next couple of months on various fiber content bases and weights. The new series is called "Mythos". Five of the ten colorways have been created thus far:



Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν)
Poseidon

Medusa (Μέδουσα)
Medusa

Ares (Άρης)
Ares

Hades (ᾍδης)
Hades

Artemis (Άρτεμις)
Artemis



Additionally, I am working on two clubs. Taboo is a collaboration club with indie dyers Gherkin's Bucket, Dreamsinfiber, and myself. It is a yarn club featuring colorways and swag of mature content. FFtC is providing the February shipment. Sign-ups are closed for this club, but we will host a new club this summer called Every Decade Has a Diva. This second collaboration will be a 3 month club that features colorways inspired by women from each decade starting in the 1900s. It will renew itself at a date TBA to pick up with decades 1930-1950s.

The second club for 2011 is Inconceivable. This club is inspired by the classic film and novel, "The Princess Bride." Sign-ups will begin in March on the FFtC Ravelry group and an RNG will be run to draw spots as there is limited space available.

Furthermore, check the Etsy shop on the weekends for updates. Updates are random and unannounced to promote fairness. New colorways have debuted recently, and many old favorites (i.e. some vamp colorways) will be making a reappearance! You can catch a peak at some new colorways in my sold items on the Etsy shop, or on my Flickr.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Etsy Reopening

Here are two new graduated colorways that will be debuting in October for my Etsy reopening:

Legion-For We Are Many (Inspired by the film "The Exorcist") and Jack O' Lantern

Also arriving in October:

* Aspen & Oak (self striping)
* Shunnnnnnn the Non-Believer
* various potlucks
* Indian Summer
* Malice (encore)
* Lemon Cookies (encore)



Monday, August 10, 2009

This and That

Sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I've been quite the busy bee! :) Currently, FFtC is busy dyeing away at club colorways. The two clubs running now are Vamp Sock Club 2009 (VSC term 1) and The Wizard of OZ yarn club. VSC has two months left and OZ runs through January 2010.
Because of the clubs, I have had my Etsy shop in vacation mode. However, I plan to reopen with new stock and new colorways this October! :D All the Twilight and True Blood inspired colorways will continue to be on temporary moratorium though until January first for club exclusivity. Anyone interested in a custom order for any of those yarns should PM me on my Etsy shop in January. Certain colorways will not be available though for order, those being the club exclusives: "The Volturi," "Debbie Pelt," and all Interview with the Vampire and Underworld inspired colorways.

Some additional exciting news is that I am in the planning stages of introducing a new series: "We're All Mad Here" (WAMH). This series is an Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass theme. Each colorway will be dyed on its prototype base and offered for general retail, and custom order, starting early next year. There will be some new and exciting bases and dye techniques offered for this series. I am also in talks with some pattern designers to develop WAMH inspired knitting and crochet designs that will compliment the colorways. These patterns will be offered as a yarn/pattern combo kit for a limited time on my Etsy when the new series debuts and then all patterns can be acquired from the designers, themselves.

New bases that are/will become regular options for the shop include: MCN (in lace, fingering, and worsted weight), silk camel, 50/50 silk merino in worsted weight, and some new alpaca blends in various weights. I will also be introducing some new dye techniques for WAMH including self-striping and graduated colorways.

Aside from WAMH, I have a new Twilight colorway to introduce in January after the vamp yarn moratorium. The Meadow will be available for custom order starting 1-1-10.

And I have 3 Twilight fanfic inspired colorways that will be offered in October for custom order. "Wide Awake" is inspired by the artwork from Angstgoddess's epic twifanfic. "Malice" was inspired by Landscapes, and a general fanfic theme colorway: "Lemon Cookies."

Wide Awake:

On a personal note, I have completed a few more FOs.

And I just returned from a 2 week trip to the UK which was amazing! I have 400+ pics on my Flickr page if you all would like to check them out. :D Here is a little highlight: