Issue 4
Wrapping Up July
We’re barreling towards August and I’m mentally barreling towards autumn. I’m so ready for the mornings to start feeling a bit more crisp so I can reach for a cardigan when I get up and head out to check on the garden.
August usually means we’ve finally beat the peak summer heat here in Santa Fe 🥵 and we start getting bigger harvests from our little garden. It also means the days aren’t quite as exhausting in the studio. It gets a little toasty in there in the summertime with our warming oven cooking away and no air conditioning.
August is also an exciting time in Santa Fe with lots of big festivals sending summer off with a bang, like the Indian Market and Zozobra. Plus, I’m really looking forward to heading to Flock Fiber Festival and sharing that all with you all in a couple weeks!
On My Needles
One of the projects currently on my knitting needles that I am fully obsessed with is my Avenue Tee made with my own handspun yarn.
This pattern by Tori Yu has quickly become my go-to for a quick summer knit. I’ve made three versions of it now 🫣 but I think my favorite is easily going to be the one made with my handspun. This is my very first garment made fully with handspun yarn, so I’m super extra proud of it.
You may remember me talking about finishing spinning this yarn in our last newsletter and now look at it! There is a truly incredible level of self pride you get with using a yarn I created from start to finish: I dyed the fiber, spun it, and finally knit it into a finished object. I cannot recommend it enough.
Inspiration Station
I’m already planning out my autumn knits, but let’s have one last hurrah for some new summer patterns!
The Colin, You Flutter Me tee is just so cute! I love the feminine details of the sleeve caps and the neckline shaping. I think this top would look ridiculously adorable in a cotton/merino blend like our Cotton Fingering, which has the perfect amount of drape do make those fluttery sleeves do their thing.
Tanis’s new tank pattern is a new summer wardrobe staple, for sure! I also get asked a lot for recommendations on how to use up mini skeins, and the Tehari Tank is just begging you to dig out your favorite mini skein set or those left over yarn scraps that you just can’t bring yourself to throw away.
News from the Studio
Dyeing for the Tropical Collection is complete! 🎉
With our last preorder wrapped up, we’ve begun preparing for what’s next on our calendar: Heirloom Q2! We will officially launch the preorder for the second quarter of colors from the club on August 16 at 4pm MT. Sample skeins are being dyed across all of our bases so that we can begin taking photos and preparing for the preorder launch. We’ve also created three brand new tonal colorways to pair with each of the club colorways and I’m so excited to reveal them to you soon! Colorway reveals on Instagram will begin on August 6 and you can follow along at @longdogyarn.
Let's Go for a Spin
I finally finished spinning and plying the second skein of my first sweater spin! This skein turned out to be a whopper (no wonder it took me so long to finish) with over 600 yds. I have a little less than 2 oz of fiber left to spin to finish up this monster of a project, but I’m so proud of myself for sticking with it and getting this far.
For this spin, I’m using some natural grey roving from Cactus Hill Farms along with the amazingly beautiful hand-dyed combed top from Zeezee Textiles and plying the two together in an epic combo spin. I’m really looking forward to swatching up my yarn to finally choose a sweater project to use it in.
Color Corner
Sometimes you just need a little dash of color to kick start your creativity. The Color Corner pulls amazing color combinations from our current instock inventory for a little dose of inspiration. Mentally, I’ve already checked into autumn, so this color corner features rich autumnal hues with the trio of Hatch, Acoma Sky City, and Red, Green, or Christmas?
On My Plate
We officially have our first batch of homemade pickles straight from the garden!
I used this recipe for easy refrigerator pickles to use up our little cucumber harvest. I kinda eyeballed it on the spices a bit and gave them a few days in the frige before giving them a try. I think they turned out pretty good! Maybe just a little bit too much mustard seed in this batch, so I think I’ll take that down and add a little more dill next time.
My next pickling adventures this year will hopefully be some sweet & hot pickled jalapeños as I think I will finally have some peppers ready this week!
Your Amazing Makes
Adriel shared this amazing make in our Discord and I am so in love!
Adriel used Light of Earendil & Deep Breath Before the Plunge from the One Collection to Rule Them All on a modified version of the Rock It Tee. Just look at how beautifully drapey the finished top turned out with the gorgeous difference in texture between the fingering weight and fluffy lace weight yarns.
If you make anything with our yarn and share it on Instagram, please tag us @longdogyarn so I can share your amazing make in an upcoming newsletter!