Three Little Purls

All you’ve never wanted to know about Mama Blue Knitting Goods (plus a few real FAQ).

Where did the name Mama Blue Knitting Goods come from?

Mamablue was my etsy username before I opened my shop. When I decided to start my business, I chose a name that would fit the username I already registered. Mama = me, Blue = has to do with one of my daughter’s names.

Where did the blog name Three Little Purls come from?

My three daughters. Each one is a beautiful little purl girl.

What is your favorite part about Mama Blue Knitting Goods?

Seeing what people create with my yarns. It makes my day.

Anything that gives you fits?

Colorways that don’t cooperate for the camera. Yes, Boudoir and Poppy, I’m talking about you.

Do you have any employees?

Nope. It’s just me.  My husband tried to help, but we discovered he is severely fiber impaired. The man has no business going near a swift. He contributes by making dinner for the kids on my big dyeing days. Who wants Macaroni and Cheese and ice cream?

Why don’t you dye more variegated yarns?

I only dye and sell yarns that I would want to knit with and wear. I much prefer semi-solids. I dye variegated yarns when the mood strikes.

Why don’t you dye more self-striping yarns?

They take f o r e v e r to dye. They are totally awesome, but a time-eating labor of love. I will continue to dye them, but when I find the time.

Why do you sell on Etsy? Don’t you want to have your own webstore?

I like Etsy. Yes, there are some things I would change, but they are primairly on my end, as the shopkeeper. I am very, very grateful that Etsy is fast enough that it does not oversell items. I also like that Esty has a feedback feature.  I do occasionally think about moving to my own site, but I really like being free of web-commerce . gateway . SSL . server . certificate . maintenance stuff.

How do you come up with your colorway names?

Some are named after songs I like, a few are named after family members, coins, the beach, and so on.

Which colorway is your favorite?

Today I like Palomino. and Aquae. and Bark.

Do you have a yarn club? I would really like to join.

I do not have a yarn club. As a fellow yarn lover, I have been a member of yarn clubs in the past. While it was nice to have yarn shipped to me without the stress of F5ing through a busy shop update, many times the yarn did not suit my tastes. As a dyer, I want to use my limited time and resources to dye yarn that my customers want and love, rather than take your hard-earned money and hope that you like what arrives in the mystery box on your doorstep.

I do have a project I’m working on that will hopefully work out much better than a yarn club. Details to come as the project nears completion.

Why do you put a Susan G. Komen card in with my order? Are you affiliated with them?

No affiliation, but I do think it’s wise to take a proactive approach to healthcare, boobies included. Breast cancer has affected the lives of so many people I love, including my mom and grandmother, and I want to increase awareness. Think of the postcard as a reminder to do your monthly breast exam.

So… what do you do with your Mama Blue income?

I spend it on trips to Europe and fine wines. Heh. A large part goes toward business stuff, like base yarn, supplies and taxes. The rest goes towards exciting things like my daughters braces and the financial responsibility associated with the adoption of my youngest daughter. I treat myself to some roving occasionally, too.

About two years ago, my girls and I decided that our house needed a little more personality. After an afternoon of fabric scraps, hemp cord and craft paint, we had made a batch of wooden friends. Each wooden girl has her name painted on the bottom. This is Fern.

Lovely Fern lives in the dining room and hangs on the hooks where I keep my aprons. Today I noticed she matches the corriedale I have dyed and spun, but I hardly think this yarn should be called Fern. It’s more reminiscent of the desert.

The best part is that I have 8.5 ounces of lovely sport/DK yarn to work with. It’s a bit too scratchy for a baby garment, so I’ll have to get creative when figuring out what to make with it. Maybe a 3/4 sleeve pullover for my youngest. She never complains. :)

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Oh, and I won ribbons at the fair! Whee!

Eeep! Summertime is busy! In addition to the usual business that comes with managing a household of five, I’ve been working extra on account of the empty shop. Despite my hectic (and exhausting) summertime schedule, I’ve managed to squeeze in a wee bit of completely blissful knitting time during kiddie swim lessons and art class.

They’re far from done, but I’m still loving every stitch I’m able to make on these.

Whew! This weekends shop update went off without a hitch. It was a busy weekend full of packaging tape and laser printers, but in the end every paid order was out the door on Monday.

I even managed to take a few minutes to relax and cast on a new pair of socks. I know I am of biased opinion, but I love my Troika Sock yarn. It is yummy stuff, for sure. I have a difficult time choosing what colors to knit for myself, so I have a rule that I can knit only from my seconds bin. When this skein of Canary came up as a second, I was so happy.

I also took a few minutes to rip, knit, and rip again the knee socks I’m working on. Those calf increases are giving me fits!

I’m still buried in yarn and dyes. The good news is that all of my custom orders, including the giant ones, are in the hands of their owners. Wholesale orders are about finished, too. I also have lots of shop yarn dyed up, with more skeins finished daily. I’ll be sending a note out to the mailing list about the big update soon. It will be a good one. :)

I don’t have much stamina for complicated knitting right now, so stockinette it is.

These colors are so fantastic that it is easy to ignore the cruddy quality of the yarn. This stuff breaks if you look at is funny and is very thick and thin.

But the colors! Oh! They are wonderful!

I started a pair of socks with my Troika Sport in Cabbage. This skein is from my seconds bin. As you can see, one ply is different and, therefore, doesn’t take color like the rest. This is something I find sort of neat, and sort of annoying at the same time. Mostly annoying.

With 250 yards in a skein, I’m about to discover whether I can get a pair of size 7 socks out of one skein. These are the Petticoat Socks from Weekend Knitting and I’m aiming for the shorter cuff version. I see that a few others have managed to squeak by with similar amounts of yarn, so I’m going for it - top down sock and all.

Even though I’m up to my elbows in yarn and dye, I’ve managed to squeeze in a wee bit of mental-health spinning time.

I’m loving this pretty mix of pinks and accent colors. I did a much improved job of dyeing this fiber. No felting!

Then my Woolie Winder came, so I had to take it for a spin. (Yay for presents to myself!) I like it, but there is definitely a learning curve with this thing. Again, I’m using my trusty hand dyed corriedale fiber. Still no felting, but the colors are kinda ick. I’ll wait to pass judgment until I’ve plied it up.

This weekend, it was 105 degrees in my neck of the woods. It was so hot that I did not want to look at, or much less, touch yarn. So I didn’t.*

Yesterday, the weather finally cooled down a balmy 99 degrees. Perfect weather to crochet a blanket, right?

It didn’t last long. Time to go back to socks.

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*That’s not entirely true. I did ship out Mama Blue orders, but that doesn’t count.

(on Ravelry)

Yarn :: My handspun 2 -ply, 3.7oz/? yds
Fiber :: Superwash Merino Roving in Squashed purchased from Sakina Needles
Pattern :: My generic The Humble Sock goes Toe Up recipe, with a few mods
Needle :: Knit Picks us2.5, 3.0mm
Started :: Mid-May 2008
Finished :: June 9, 2008

Modifications :: Worked over 44 stitches. Heel done over 22 sts, with a 2-stitch garter ridge on each end of the heel flap. Cuff is 2 ridges of garter stitch.

My first pair of socks knit with my handspun, and most definitely not the last. (The Peach Pit handspun will be next.) They are squishy soft and wonderfully warm. So warm, in fact, that they will have to wait till fall to be worn.

THE HUMBLE SOCK goes TOE UP

Toe up sock with a heel flap for both DPN’s and Magic Loop

Ravelry
humbletoeup.pdf

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{This recipe is primairly posted here for my personal reference. Of course, you are welcome to use it, but please know that it has not been test knit by someone else, or checked for typos by anyone but me. If you find anything weird, let me know, k? xo nikki}