signups for "Romantic Comedy Movies" tvyarn club

Hi everyone,

For our next tvyarn sock club series, tvyarn will be celebrating Romantic Comedy Movies!

There will be three shipments for this series. The yarn base will be my 100% superwash yarn. Each month, you may choose fingering or sport weight tvyarn.For one of the shipments, members will have the opportunity to vote for the Romantic Comedy movie for that month by using a poll on the club blog. And there will also be contests now and then on the club blog.

With each shipment, you will receive
- An exclusive color way of tvyarn as inspired by that month's Romantic Comedy movie. During the series, you will receive two multi-color variegated color ways and one semi-solid color way.
- A theme-related stitch marker
- At least two more theme-related, fun surprises.

PLUS, in one of the three shipments, you will receive a cute - and useful - sock project bag or tote. The shipment it arrives with will be a surprise.

The shipments will be the first week of March, April, and June, 2008.The price for the series is $100 plus $13.80 shipping. SIGNUPS OPEN NOW. If you join, you will receive a paypal invoice for the entire amount during the third week of January 2008. To join send email to whiteoakstudio AT yahoo DOT com.

Signups will end when the club is full OR on January 15, 2008 (which ever comes first). Spaces are very limited. I hope you will join the fun! Jana

Sock it to me

Hey, our knitting phenomenon has made the Wall Street Journal! I am not surprised, we are a force to be reckoned with! Here's the article.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Hi everyone, I have a colorway in the shop where all profits (plus some more) go to local charity. Ten dollars for each purchase of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" tvyarn goes to those in need in my local community. The funds will be administered by my church, Hope Community Church at http://www.gethope.net/ - I am so happy to be able to do this.

finished two-over-two vest

I just finished my two-over-two vest! I love it!
size: small
pattern: two-over-two vest
yarn: Wool Cotton from Rowan
needles: US 5

more pics in ravelry

some knitting progress

Here's a peek at my two over two vest. This photo is a few days old so now I have only about 2 inches to go on the body, then the straps. I'm really loving the rowan wool cotton that I'm using - I've wanted to use this yarn for a long time and it has not disappointed.

I got my new Winter 2007 Interweave Knits and know I will knit at least two things from this issue: the Alicia Tabbard vest and the Logan River Wrap. Yarn for these two is already on its way here.

I wish I had more time to knit! I'm hoping to knit almost nonstop during the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend!

SAFF was AMAZING!!

Here's one of the baby llamas (crias) that I met at SAFF this weekend! I had a booth in Barn B -- actually it was a barn stall, how cool is that? -- and the whole weekend was so much fun. I can't wait for next year! I already signed up so I can have the same stall. And next year I'll be much better prepared, now that I know what it's all about.

More photos soon, best, Jana

Back in town

I'm back from NM and had to hit the ground running. I did manage to make some good progress on my Two over Two Vest so I'll post photos soon. Ciao! Jana

New Mexico here I come!

This is what I'll be doing next week in New Mexico! See you when I return, Jana

Progress on Juliet

I've been focused on Juliet so have not been able to start on the Waterfall yarn from the first shipment of the Woolgirl Sock Club. But I did manage to wind it and find an awesome Knitting Witch sock bag for it, from White Willow

I am loving Juliet and should finish it this weekend.

And, last but not least, I've wound my sport weight Thelma & Louise yarn and it also has its own White Willow sock bag!

I am really having knitting project fever this week; I've purchased several patterns and the yarn for them is on its way. More on those projects soon, but I'm also keeping ravelry up to date.

Knitting HAS and WILL happen!

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Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudiotvyarn

Da mail has arrived! I've been not-patiently awaiting several yarn packages this week. Found this on my porch from WEBS - first, on the right, Debbie Bliss Stella yarn to knit Sanpoku sweater from Berroco. I've been yearning for a warm-weather, silk blend and this looks amazing. Then, below, some luxury Lantern Moon circular needles for - ta da -

Juliet from ZephyrStyle in Plymouth Royal Silk Merino! A gorgeous shade of jewel red. I'm going to cast on RIGHT NOW! TGIF!!

Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap Questionaire

1. Are you religious? I am a Christian.
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? I'd say I'm intermediate but I'll pretty much tackle any pattern and figure things out eventually.
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting? Oh my, too many. I dye yarn. I make jewelry and love home design. I make art quilts with handdyed fabric. I play golf and am always reading lots of books. bike riding, walking my dog, hiking, travel
4. Favorite color(s)? Red, oranges, lime and avocado greens
5. Do you collect anything? No, not really.
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? Nope.
7. Do you have any pets? Yes, my black lab Scout
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate? Coffee
9. Cookies or Sweets? Both.
10. Do you knit socks? Yep.
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits)Tank tops, light sweaters
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do?Usually we do.
13. Favorite holiday treats? Cut out cookies with icing
14. Favorite holiday smells? Spice. Vanilla, pine too.
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventionalway? Please elaborate. Fairly traditional. We live far from family sowe usually fly to either Michigan or Iowa for Christmas. We do notspend a lot on gifts, just spend time together.
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions? At our home we have atree and a few presents. We make a gingerbread house. We walk aroundour neighborhood and sing Christmas Carols and my son plays the trumpet.I attend The Nutcracker ballet with a friend and usually attend TheMessiah concert at Duke University. I sang in The Messiah, as asoprano, for many years. 17. Finish the sentence: "For me Christmas is all about...."family
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be.......? A lightbulb
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given? We spend a lot of money and time to travel to family for the Christmas holidays, so every year I'd say that's my favorite gift.
20. When do you start your Christmas? December 1
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them? Formany years I made them. Now I write a note and put photos of our yearin it.
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish? Red jello with creamcheese
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do? Walk outside, smile,listen and maybe sing along. And always applaud afterwards!
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Eve. We attend church on Christmas morning.
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both? both

Sock Knitting bags in store

Well after much research and several experiments I have finally figured out how to make Sock Pouches! Last month I bought one from H. L. Miller's etsy store and I just loved it. I tried to buy more in a fabric that I loved and search everywhere on the internet but could not find one to purchase. So I decided to try to make some myself. Let me tell you these are not easy to make but after many late nights I figured out how to make some that please me.

So now I am making some for my etsy store and some to sell at the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival (SAFF) in Asheville in October.

And, on another note, the over-90-degree weather that we've had here in NC for the month of August finally eased a bit so we went for a long bike ride today after church service. It was wonderful to be able to breathe outside again! Jana

Southeast Animal Fiber Festival in Asheville, NC

My son returned to school this week so for me it's officially almost Autumn. I'm still adjusting to leaving the lazy days of summer behind. But Autumn is my favorite time of year and this year it will be even more exciting. I'm going to have a booth at the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival in Asheville, NC in October! I really need to start loading up on inventory and planning my booth. No, I have no idea what I'm going to do for a booth other than have tables with lots of baskets full of yarn! So I need to get thinkin' on this. Here's the SAFF website.

There will be a bunch of bloggers and ravelry-ers at SAFF and I'm excited to meet everyone. Here's a link to someone who doc'ed SAFF from last year.

One Word

ravelry

Christmas/Holiday Movie tvyarn contest results

Meet "The Polar Express"!

I really loved all your entries but the colors and the amazing emotional appeal of "The Polar Express" intrigued me. It's not one that I would have picked on my own, so I loved the idea of it. After 3 tries and 2 failures, I came close to what I was trying to capture. Midnight blue, shades of violet moonlight on snow, hot chocolate and shades of golden yellow for the beaming light. Ah.

So, both "emicat" and "vegasangelbrat" contributed to the idea and colors - so BOTH of you win 2 skeins of "The Polar Express". And then for the other 41 of you I did a random number generation and "kimncocoa" won. So will the three of you please send me your name and address? To whiteoakstudio at yahoo dot com

thanks! this was great fun! Jana

Chick Flick Movies Tvyarn Club

Hang on to your hats! It's time for a road trip in the convertible! I've decided to do a tvyarn club and for our first series we'll be doing Chick Flick Movies Tvyarn!

Details are in my etsy store - you can purchase month by month or for the entire series at once.

Come on and join the fun, Jana

You guys are awesome!

WOW! I LOVE all the answers to my tvyarn contest! There are so many interesting answers and so thoughtful too. What I love is that they are such great ideas and many I would NEVER have thought of on my own.

So.... I'll post the winners and a photo of the new yarn ASAP :-)

thanks so much, Jana

Christmas/Holiday Movie TVYARN CONTEST!!

Well, yes, it's August but just this week I started to get Christmas fever and I'm ready to create some Christmas/Holiday-themed sock yarn! I need help with ideas so let's have a contest. The prize will be 2 skeins of the yarn that you will help to create by participating in the contest.

So leave a comment and tell me
1) the title of your favorite Christmas/Holiday movie
2) what colors you would put in yarn inspired by the movie and WHY you would choose those colors for the movie. So give me an eloquent and passionate rationale. Or just a funny one.

I'll pick the winner based on what I think is the best Christmas/Holiday movie/colors inspiration and reasoning. Remember you can pick the same movie that someone else chose and give your own colors/reason. Then I'll dye the yarn and let y'all take a look. Make sense? (And do not choose Elf because I dyed that one yesterday :-) )

So leave a comment by 5pm Wednesday August 8, 2007. If I get more than 30 entries I'll give 2 prizes - one for best entry and one random winner. So tell your friends! Jana

sockapalooza sock #1

One down, one to go. Two days to send off. I think I can make it. These are Crusoe sock pattern using tvyarn in CSI Miami colorway from my etsy store.

I really like this pattern - it's a fast knit and easy stranded stitch. It works wonderfully with variegated yarn.

Next week I am on vacation. Again. This is for our family reunion in Michigan. We're staying at a cottage on Lake Michigan near Saugatuck. It's not exactly a carefree vacation for me, since I'm the "middle" generation and it's sort of my job to be "cruise director", as we like to call it. I plan activities and meals and "take the emotional temperature" every once in awhile to keep relationships running smoothly. Sometimes it's a challenge since we have folks from 2 weeks old to 85 years old! Mostly it's wonderful and this year we even have air conditioning so that will feel like a luxury.

My goal is to finish my sockapalooza socks while I am there! I am actually feeling too tired to get ready to go on vacation again, but somehow I'll pull it off and I know it will be worth it. See you in a week, Jana

My backyard

As promised here's some photos of my yard, which I really enjoyed this weekend. These freshly-painted, chartreuse shelves are going in my dye studio. My studio is in the basement on the far right. And I love my adirondack chairs, in hot pink. We washed our windows last week - a big once-a-year job where the whole family helps!

thanks Lora!

Lora did a great job "gifting" me for the June BLUE knitting swap. Gorgeous blue sportweight yarn from Sereknity. A beaded bracelet, did you make it Lora? And lots of other blue goodies. And a photo of Starsky!! yay!

slow, lazy, kick-back summer

It's almost the middle of July. I'm trying to truly savor each day of the middle-of-the-summer. We finally had some rain here and I loved the dark evening of rain. And the garden enjoyed it even more.

I had made a bunch of stitch markers so I decided to take some photos and sell them on etsy. To sweeten the purchase and provide more functionality (I'm always misplacing stitch markers myself) I ordered some summery beach-safe screw-top containers and they will sell as a package along with the stitch markers.

I'm really enjoying making my socks for my sockapalooza pal. I had a rocky start and some panic-y moments with the first pattern I tried but now I've got yarn and pattern that I love. I'll post pictures soon. The pattern is from Knitty and has some bad errors and since no one has posted the solutions (only lots of posts about the problems) I am hoping to post the pattern WITH the solution so others can benefit.

So I need to take and post photos of
- my garden which is now refreshed - today there were two goldfinches and a cardinal at the birdbath (really a bird fountain with water I keep fresh for them) at the same time! I loved the color!
- my sockapalooza socks and pattern
- my studio which will have new shelves that my son and I painted today in LIME GREEN :-)
- my lab Scout who has a fancy-shmancy hairdo after a bath and brush this week, she is gorgeous

I am also having a wonderful time getting in a lot of reading time this month. I'll update my reading list on my sidebar this week. Our library has a wonderful webpage where I can just "order" the books I want and they send me email when they have transfered them from another county library to my local library. Then I just stop by and pick them up. Same for renewal, automatic email that a book needs to be renewed and the 'click' I renew it! The libraries in the U.S. are just wonderful.

A new addition to the family

About a month ago, my husband phoned me at worked and said excitedly "a friend of mine will sell me a 1965 Mustang for 3K below blue book. Can I buy it?".
I replied "Uhh, no.".
A week later he asked "I really want to buy that car. ok?".
I said "no".
Two weeks later same thing.
Last week it made its grand entrance into our garage. Sigh. I did get a car stall full of hubbie's junk cleaned out, at least. Or did I?!

thank you secret pal!

thanks for the great package of goodies, secret pal! I'll post a photo soon. Hmm... I know you gave me a hint but so far I haven't figured out who you are. But I will keep trying :-)

Vacation in Grand Tetons NP and Yellowstone NP

This is where I'll be in a couple of days! We're off for a vacation of hiking, rafting, driving, reading, eating, relaxing, and sightseeing. And I'll be taking several knitting projects along, so I can get back to knitting again and away from the dye studio (which is always calling my name when I'm at home).


I shipped off my order to woolgirl so Jen should be putting it up on her shop next week sometime.


I plan to knit Cookie A's Hedera socks in the Gunsmoke colorway! Hey, I guess it's fitting to knit with this while I'm out west. I'll be casting on while we're waiting for our flight to board. Can't wait!


And I'll be taking several books to read too. I think I'll start with The Outlander. Hmmm... haven't decided what other books to take along.

a fun weekend dyeing new colorways

Hi everyone, I had a fun weekend dreaming up new colorways. I love greens and have been working to get a rich, deep avocado plus I decided to pair it up with an awesome, mixed violet! I am so happy with how it turned out. Meet "Casablanca"!

The colors kept reminding me of North Africa, Moroccan colors so I decided to name it "Casablanca". Yum!

a tour of my dye studio

I thought you might be interested in a small tour of my dye studio which is in the basement of our home. This photo shows the dye area where I presoak the yarn, mix the dyes, and and dye the yarn. I have a view of a 80 foot white oak directly out my windows, thus the name White Oak Studio.



This photo shows how I dye the yarn in small batches.


I'll post more info and pictures about my dyeing soon!

Knitter's virtual vacation questionnaire

I grew up in Michigan, but I currently live in North Carolina, and the American West owns my heart!

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why? Montana - I love the west and Montana is simply breath-taking.
2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why? Greece. I've never been there and think the Greek islands look amazing.
3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries? oh yes, many times, my family drove from Michigan to Washington every summer. We took different routes, even via Canada several times.
4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it? I visited Prague in 1986 while there was still an Iron Curtain ala the Soviet Union and it seemed very exotic at the time.
5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why? There have been many but one amazing one was a 3 week trip from NC to Chicago via plane, from Chicago to Seattle via train with a stop in Glacier National Park, biking and camping from island to island in the San Juan islands, and then back to NC. During the trip we visited my brother in Chicago and my wonderful aunts and uncles in Washington, where my parents also flew in to visit. Quite a trip.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain. When we first moved to NC we visited the entire state - the Outer Banks, drove down the Atlantic coast, and also went all over the NC mountains on the Blue Ridge parkway.
7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker? definitely not amusement seeker. probably a bit more beachcomber than museum visitor but that is a close call, in general we are more outdoorsy than museum folks but we definitely do both.
8. What's your favorite type of yarn? right now it's sock yarn, any kind, although I have been wanting to try a cotton blend or a bamboo blend.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn? not into mohair
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet? sleeveless tanks and socks
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation? whatever I'm currently knitting
12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet? right now my other crafts are art quilting and oil painting
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise) nope.
14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite? favorite is red. least is...pastels
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)? savory
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know? I love coffee! And I love to read.

woolgirl will be carrying my yarn!

I'm very excited to announce that woolgirl www.woolgirl.com will be carrying my yarn! Jen is running a contest related to my tvyarn on her blog http://woolgirl.typepad.com/woolgirl/2007/06/woolgirl_wants_.html so be sure to go over there and place your entry in the contest.

www.woolgirl.com has an amazing selection of hand-dyed yarn by indie dyers and I am flattered to be part of this gang. woolgirl also has a monthly newsletter - here is the newsletter for may http://www.woolgirl.net/Wooly%20Woolgirl%20Newsletter2.pdf

thanks secret pal!

My secret pal from sp10 sent me another awesome package! Look at all the goodies! thanks pal!

knitters coffee swap

I'm running my first contest for the Knitter's Coffee Swap. I have a name in mind for the tvyarn above and whoever guesses the name (and reason for the name) will win the contest. Should be fun; I expect several correct entries so we'll have to pick a name out of a hat to decide.

knitting in the dark

My purple swap package arrived.. from Sonya. She really got into the purple theme! I loved it all - take a look at the purple knitting needles that glow in the dark for all the times that I really need to knit in the dark! And she knitted an adorable coin purse too.
THANK YOU, SONYA

Golfing to support Breast Cancer research

This week I took a day off work to support a great cause - to support research for a cure for breast cancer. My husband and I played as a foursome with some dear friends. None of us are particularly good golfers since we don't have time to play often. Luckily for each shot we only had to use one shot of our four shots! So we'd have 3 balls in the woods and one in the fairway. Then 3 balls in the lake and 1 on the green! We ended up playing very well and everyone contributed. A wonderful day.

Knitters Coffee Swap

Sunne sent me a great coffee swap package! There were 4 skeins of a yummy cotton/cashmere Noro yarn, some of her coffee-themed stitchmarkers from her etsy store, fresh roasted coffee beans, chocolate cookies, a an awesome "protector" dog-angel charm for my dog Scout! thanks Sunne!

7 things

Sonya tagged me with 7 Things
List 7 random things about yourself.
Tag 7 others.
Leave a comment on their blog to direct them to your site to get the rules.

1. I am purebred Dutch even though I am 3rd generation to live in the U.S. My maiden name is De Vries and my married name is Van Wyk. And my son will be the 4th generation "purebred", rather unusual.

2. I skipped kindergarten and went straight into first grade, so I was always the youngest in my class by almost a year.

3. My husband and I lived in Germany for a year.

4. I hate answering or talking on the phone.

5. My husband does all the grocery shopping and cooking for our family.

6. I put myself through college and grad school by cleaning homes and waitressing. It was hard.

7. As I was growing up, during the school year we lived in Michigan, and during the summers we lived in Washington, which I loved. My Dad was a school teacher. We always drove between the two states and camped. With three kids, how did my Mom ever manage that?

My "Mary's Garden" crazy quilt is on tour

In the spring of 2006 my art quilt "Mary's Garden" was juried into the ARTQUILTimages show sponsored by Profession Art Quilt Alliance-South. This show has been traveling ever since - after visiting 5venues in 5 states the final show is at CK Media Gallery in Golden, Colorado. My crazy quilt "Mary's Garden" is featured on their website.
This quilt is dedicated to Mary Dozeman, my maternal grandmother, and features several photographs of her, my mother June De Vries, and one photo with the three of us - taken in Montana in 1960. I transfered the photos to fabric and then used the fabric in the crazy quilt motif.

flash your stash

Here's part of my yarn stash in my big, old, white stoneware bowl - flashing this stash for the secret pal 10 contest!

Artists' Retreat in New Mexico

Last week I was in southern New Mexico at a week long painting retreat. The workshop, led by Kim English, focused on painting figures in the landscape and we worked primarily outside - en plein air.

It was very challenging and since it was my first opportunity to paint figures... I don't think you'll see any of my workshop paintings displayed here!

I do know, though, that in the future I will definitely be confident enough to add figures to my paintings. Small ones.

The photo is of my good painting friends and I. We meet only once a year or less but drop right back into our good friendships whenever we are together. We talk about our art work for HOURS on end! I'm the one on the far left.

look at what my friend knitted!

Look at the amazing sock that my friend Cheryl knitted! Isn't it amazing? She is SO talented. She knitted this sock out of my hand painted yarn in the colorway named "Sex and the City". I have been so busy dyeing yarn and updating my etsy shop that I have not had time for any knitting lately. Hopefully that will change in a few weeks.

The pattern is Metropolis from Wildhorse Farm Designs.

Thank you, Cheryl!

thank you secret pal!

On Saturday I got an awesome package of goodies from my secret pal. I love everything in it! There were 2 skeins and 2 balls of alpaca yarn - can you believe this is my FIRST alpaca yarn??!! I didn't know what I was missing; it is soooo soft. The blue is hand painted. And there's a cute travel-theme tape measure - in honor of my upcoming trip, right? very nice! Plus some air freshener, lip aid, and hand creme. thank you SP!!

My baby - Scout

Here's my gorgeous girl, Scout! She is our second black lab. She was supposed to be a fancy-shmancy show dog (she has quite the pedigree) but because she has some white hair on her legs and muzzle (called brindle), she became available for us! She is very loving, has the run of the house all the time, and sleeps in her own twin bed in my son's bedroom :-)

Guess who she's named after.

coffee swap 2 questions

1. Whole bean or ground? either is fine but prefer whole bean so I can grind it
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? extremely fully loaded
3. Regular or flavored? regular, love roasts
4. How do you drink your coffee? hot and black
5. Favorite coffee ever? I love it all as long as it's good coffee and not weak or watery
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? any good coffee, i.e. not maxwells
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? pastries!!! donuts!! sweet breads, muffins, YUM
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? for a treat I do occasionally get a latte preferably NOT from starbucks. We have 2 Java Jive indies near us that have drivethrough. Oh and in the winter a friend and I will get peppermint mochas during a girls night out of shopping.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? pretty much anything. love cotton or cotton blends. prefer weight lt. worsted or below (hot in NC)
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? acrylic, not too crazy about hairy mohair
11. What's on your needles? socks, cardigan for arwen
12. Favorite colors? love red, browns, greens, love any non-kelly green, denim color, I like lots of colors
13. Allergies? nope
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I cannot wait to go on vacation. I need a break! I'm off to an artists workshop with Kim English instructor in Ruiodoso NM - meeting a good friend there and we're staying at the artist retreat which is a cool adobe house next to a mountain stream. It'll be the first time I've painted from live models - oil painting. I'm actually kind of nervous since I haven't done much figurative work at all. I might just set up my own still life and paint that! I can paint a bowl and a pear!!

joining knitters' coffee swap

round 2 of the knitters' coffee swap has begun!

New Mexico here I come (again)

For the past three years I've attended an artists' workshop at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The workshop is with Ann Templeton and we paint outside all day long. It's an amazing experience. The retreat is rather remote and very rustic - it's almost like camping. I've met some great friends there. Here's a picture of some of us (I'm on the far right).

I'm on may way there for a fourth time in May07.

Also, on the knitting front, I've joined the sockapalooza4 sock swap. Can't wait for it to begin!