a day late but I brought the cake

Ok, I have to apologize again for being utterly swamped at work and having it overflow into my non-work happy time.  I actually work in a technical field, primarily with unix, and I got bunch of  new responsibilities and additional projects to work on.  I'd weep from the stress but the job is what funds my eating, my kids going to school and (let's face it) my yarn habit.

Let me jump right in and announce the winners from last week:

These were pulled using child-powered paper-slip technology and just matched to the skeins from top to bottom.  I'll be emailing the winners separately afterward, but it's fun to see who gets the goodies.

First up, for the lovely silvery-greens and blues we have Girlieknitwit who said:

 I have never use an indpendent dyer before, shameful, I know but am going to look into it now. There are always the budget issues but I love some of the colors that people come up with!! They are so lovely sometimes it is hard to decide just what it will become.

Next for the BFL we have Knitsensei who said:

I have never bought any yarn from an indie dyer...I feel deprived :( I'd love to throw my hat back into the ring from last week.

And finally, for those luscious greens, we have Beki who said:

This is a TOUGH question.
Dyeobolical... http://www.dyeabolicalyarns.com/
Turtlepurl... http://www.artfire.com/users/Turtlepurl
Happy-Go-Lucky... http://www.happygoluckyyarn.com/

I think my favorite is the Soft Shell Turtle Toes base from Turtlepurl. 

I am really excited to be introducing knitters to an independent dyer's work!  I want to thank all of the people who entered, I haven't had time to go through all of the links and names that were provided yet but am sincerely looking forward to it.

Next up, we have Mocha's Fiber Designs.  She does some very beautiful and subtle things with color.  Right now she's working through some of her existing yarn bases in order to introduce some new ones, so not all of the categories (worsted hand paints in particular) have a ton to show.  

I was very excited to see this booth in person.  I probably could have spent the entire day there just oohing and aahing and petting the gorgeous yarn.  Her pictures are good on the site, but they don't capture the magic that goes into her creations. 

I am sad that I only have 2 skeins of Mocha's amazing yarn to give away.  But they are beauties, so let's get to it.

First up, 875 yards of  80% BFL 20% silk in blues like your favorite pair of old jeans:

This is a little more blue than in real life, it's a bit more grey in person.  And just like those favorite jeans it's soft and comforting to the touch.

Next, we have 875 yards of 80% merino 20% silk.  I have been having such a hard time parting with this one, I've had to already wrap it up with goodies so I couldn't get too attached:

Oh lilypad colorway... where have you been all my life?

I really wish I'd picked up a few more skeins from all of the vendors I've shared so far, which just goes to show that the folks at this year's fair were in great form.

Now, to apologize for the lag in yesterday's post I went ahead and pulled a few things from my personal stash that I love.  Everyone who entered last week's giveaway and everyone who enters this week's giveaway will be popped into the pot for the skeins below. 

From independent dyer Tanis Fiber Arts we have a skein of her blue label yarn in colorway Mallard:

Next up is a skein of Araucania's superwash merino, silk, and bamboo sock weight

And finally, a skein of one of my favorite Madelinetosh colorways.  Merino lite in copper penny:

So, to enter this week's giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment by Friday June 17 telling me what your favorite color family to knit with is (and a way to reach you). 

Happy knitting!