August 29, 2016

Winter Deer Project Bags in the Etsy Shop 😍

I was able to collect a bit of time yesterday and get some photos of the Winter Deer Project Bags 😍

There is 2 Medium Project Bags for $40 each!
 

1 Large Project Bag which is discounted to $50 as there's a small imperfection!
 

And 1 Extra Large Project Bag price at $80!
 

I'm also streamlining my stock a bit while I'm preparing for my fall shows and have decided that the next 3 orders that have a project bag in them get a BONUS Abstract Art Project Bag 😍 If your unsure of what the Abstract Art fabric is here's a photo of one of the project bags that will be offered 😄
 
 

Also, there a bit of an update regarding the Canada Post Strike!  

 

The union workers of Canada Post have issued an order that they will not be working Over Time during the start of the Strike Notice during Negotiations. So there is very minimal distribution of service now. 

I will be leaving my shop open until they actively strike and all service is disrupted. Please be aware of the estimated times for delivery below and be aware that these are estimates and there is a chance that it may get held up by the Canada Post Strike.

Shipping estimates within Canada Post:

Within Canada : 5-10 business days
To the USA : about 3-4 business days to clear Canada Post to Customs
International : about 3-4 business days to clear Canada Post to Customs

I'm hoping they can come to some kind of resolution so that customers and businesses alike can continue to run business as usual! But I'll be checking the status of the Canada Post Strike very closely and will be updating the status on my Etsy Shop Announcement page, Facebool Page, Instagram Page and here as it happens! 

Thanks so much 😄

August 26, 2016

A few additions to the Etsy Shop...

I've been busy doing smaller batches of project bags and it seems to be going well so far 😄 I'm able to get about 2 bags done a day during naptime. There's the occasional time that I do some sewing while my husband is home from work but I'm trying to do my work just when the kiddos are napping so we can have family time when he gets home 😄

I did my first small project bag update a few days ago and sold 2 right away! I have 2 left of this super cute Country Cowboy fabric! 1 medium and 1 Extra Large!

 
 

I also finished up these Winter Deer project bags but haven't added them to my Etsy Shop yet!

 

Here's a close up of the fabric!

 

It is so pretty! I'm hoping to have them added to my Etsy Shop this weekend as long as Canada Post doesn't go on strike. Speaking of that, that's the next order of business I need to touch base on.....

 

I am a little miffed that Canada Post might be going on strike on Aug 28........ I figured that they would be able to figure this out between the Union Workers and Canada Post but apparently it's been dragging on ...... FOREVER! I'm not going to do a whole rant on this BUT they need to get their shit together. This striking notice, lock out notice, threatening garbage is irritating to customers and businesses alike. If it was cost effective and fees able on my part, I would go a completely different shipping method but I don't want to have rediculous shipping rates. So I will
Be keeping my Etsy Shop open until they actually strike. Shipping within Canada may be held up. Shipping to the USA and International takes about 3-4 days to clear Canada post to get to customs so I believe all orders should already be clear of this. I am tossing around the idea of leaving my Etsy Shop open but shipping purchases as soon as the Strike is over. The last time they striked I believe it lasted a bit until they were legislated back to work. So it could be a couple days or a couple weeks. I'll keep everyone notified once I know more 😄

August 23, 2016

A Few Changes...

It's been about 2 years since I started Prairie Dye Studio and I wasn't sure what the response would be but I knew that it would take a couple years to establish a business. I had just become a stay at home mom with my first child and I wanted to follow that dream I've always had to dye yarn.

Fast forward a couple years and I now have 2 little girls. One 3.5 year old and a 8 month old. The response to my business has been fabulous since I did the Calgary Fibre Shindig in April and has continued to grow. I am beyond grateful for this growth and it has helped me fill my moments with a creative outlet 😍❤️

With all this growth I've been trying to balance my home life with my business and it's start to be come a little out of balance! Especially with my 8 month old crawling like a beast 😂 So I've decided to stream line my business a bit and do smaller updates. I'll still continue to stagger yarn updates and project bag updates but the only difference is that the project bags and yarn will be released in smaller batches. So as I finish up each batch of project bags in a certain fabric they will be added to my Etsy Shop. The changes will probally be very minimal for the yarn updates but there's a possibility that it may take a couple days to stagger out the different colorway to my Etsy Shop. 

Right now it's just prioritizing what comes first and I want to enjoy my time with my little ones. So hence the smaller updates 😄

I'll be doing my sewing / dyeing when they nap and I'll be doing smaller batches. The reason for this change is that I have such little time between nap times or when my husband gets home to work, that for the last little while I've been burning the candle at both ends to get everything done. So to maximize my creative time I'll just be dyeing up or sewing up what's creatively freeing for me 😍  It's why I started my small business and I've kinda detracted from it. . So I need to pull back a bit and just focus on the creative aspect of my job and business. So saying that, that's why I won't be able to do custom orders. I'll only have what's available in my Etsy Shop and some colorways I really enjoy dyeing. So no need to worry about My Old Black Powder never coming back 😂 Plus a lot of new colorways! 

Thanks so much for your love, support and understanding!! 

Melissa
PrairieDyeStudio

August 22, 2016

Silent Auction Donation for the Good Samaritan Senior Home!

I was contacted by Linda from the Good Samaratian Senior House in Rocky Mountain House, AB just over a week ago about possible donations for their Silent Auction. The funds provided from this Silent Auction to towards providing funding for things that the government doesn't supply and what the residents cannot afford. So of course I wanted to help!!

I got together a sweet package that's valued at $124!!

 

It includes: a Medium Vintage Country Can Project Bag, a skein of Duchess on MCN Sock, 2 Snagless Stich Marker Sets (1 Medium, 1 Large), 2 sets of Progress Keepers ( 1 hook, 1 Locking) and a super cute sheep wrist key chain 😍

If you're interested in placing a bid I would contact Linda Galloway at 403-845-6033 extension 63224. She may be able to place a Silent Bid for you and arrange options for payment if you win. 

It's a fabulous package for a fabulous facility 😄

Happy Bidding 😄

August 19, 2016

I ❤️Love❤️ Big Bags and I Cannot lie 😂

 For the last Project Bag Update I focused on making some sweater bags and some larger bags. When I had a previous update before Olds Fibre Week the Sweater Bags sold super fast and were well received! So I decided to make up a few more as well as some Small and Medium project Bags 😄

I decided to reach for the stars (almost literally 😂) with this Project Bag! This is the Super Extra Large Abstract Art Project Bag. It'll easily hold an afghan or blanket WIP and the photo shows that it will easily hold 3 adult women's sweaters. 2 worsted sweaters and 1 fingering! It's super roomy! 

The base of the bag measures 7.25" wide x 13" length" x 29.25" tall. The top measures 20" and the opening is 18" wide.

 

I also made 2 tall and skinny Medium Abstract Art Project bags! They will fit an adult Womans worsted sweater with a bit of room left over!

The base of the striped Abstract Art project bag measures 4" wide x 6.75" length" x 15" tall. The top measures 11" and the opening is 10" wide.

 

The base of the standard Abstract Art project bag measures 4" wide x 6.75" length" x 17.5" tall. The top measures 10.5" and the opening is 9.75" wide.

 

This Hearts Aboriginal Girl Project Bag is super cute and was a favourite during the last update! 

The base of the bag measures 5.75" wide x 13.25" length" x 12" tall. The top measures 18.5" and the opening is 16.25" wide.

 

I also introduced the new Reuse Recyle Project Bags! They are made from very gently used or new condition shirts (all recycled never bought new).  I'll only use gently used shirts and they'll be fully washed before I reuse them! I use as much of the fabric as I can and there is very minimal scraps left over. I utalize as much of the fabric as I can so there is patchwork sections on the sides 😍  There will only be 1 project bag in each fabric and are completely One Of A Kind (OOAK)!! 

This Brown and White Reuse Recycle Shirt Project Bag is Sweater sized and is discounted as it has a very small blemish on the fabric, as shown in the photo 😄

The base of the bag measures 6.5" wide x 13" length" x 14" tall. The top measures 19.5" and the opening is 17"wide.

 

This Brown and Gold Reuse Recycle Shirt Project Bag is sweater sized and made from a Billabong Shirt! it has 2 functioning pockets in the front that you can use to store notions 😄

The base of the bag measures 6.25
" wide x 13" length" x 16.5" tall. The top measures 19" and the opening is 17.25" wide.

 

This Blue and White Cowgirl WorkShirt Reuse Recyle Project Bag is sweater sized!!

The base of the bag measures 6.25" wide x 11.25" length" x 15" tall. The top measures 17.25" and the opening is 15.5" wide.

 

This Large Tweed Reuse Recycle Project Bag is sweater sized and has a seam that is top stitched down. It's hardly noticeable because of the textured fabric but it was nessessary to make enough useable fabric for the project bag 😄

The base of the bag measures 6.25" wide x 8.5" length" x 14.25" tall. The top measures 14.25" and the opening is 12.75" wide.

 

This Floral Patch Work Project Bag is sweater sized.

The base of the bag measures 7.25" wide x 9.25" length" x 14" tall. The top measures 16.25" and the opening is 13.5" wide.

 

 Happy Shopping 😄

August 18, 2016

Some Fibre Added and Some Changes...

I finally was able to post the last of the Fibre that I 'be had in my stock to my Etsy Shop yesterday! They've been lingering in my show bins since Olds Fibre Week. The below braids are the kettle dyed braids and their weight vary as the rovings were different weights when I revived them.

Left: Berries on BFL Superwash
Right : both Deep Blue on BFL Superwash but different weights

 

I also did some Fine Shetland braids that were dyed in sections. I dyed these with gradients in mind! So they are dyed in 6 sections and you can spin them in continues sections or separate them to get a continuous repeat. Whatever floats your boat 😄
I spun a braid a few months back and it came out fabulous! I spun it in sections all on one bobbin then chain plied so it came out a gradient. You can see how it came out in the bottom right photo 😄
 
 

I have so much to catch up on on the blog but have been having a hard time putting a couple thoughts together lately! My baby is crawling like a monster and requires almost constant attention. So I've put a bit of my business stuff on the back burner for now. I'm still doing project bags, yarn and notions but there will be a limited supply for now until I figure out how to balance my home and work life. There will also be a bit of restructuring my business in the next couple months so I can streamline it. Then I can spend as much of my time with my baby and toddler and enjoy their special moments while still doing updates. 

How will this affect my customers? 

There will be smaller updates with yarn and project bags with certain fabrics. It will take the pressure off me so I don't have to stress out to finish 25 bags for an update 😉



For now I'm going to enjoy what's left of summer, knit a bit and get some stock base up 😍

Thanks so much 😄

August 08, 2016

Full Preview for the Aug 9 Update is on Facebook!!

It's that time again 😄 I've uploaded all the photos of all the project bags I'll be listing tomorrow for the update! The update is Tuesday, August 9 at 10am MST!! I have a limited amount of bags in each fabric and some fabrics I'm not able to get again. 

 

I'll have a very limited amount of OOAK Cowboy / Cowgirl Work Shirt Extra Large Project Bags!! There is only 1 available in each fabric since they are made from very gently used or new condition shirts (all recycled never bought new) 😄 There are 2 brand name project bags (like Billabong) and 2 Cowboy / Cowgirl Project Bags! 

 

It's part of my new Re-Use and Recycle Initiative where I can make these super cool bags! I'll only use gently used shirts and they'll be fully washed before I reuse them! There will only be 1 project bag in each fabric and are completely One Of A Kind (OOAK)!!

I decided to make more larger bags this time around since last time I only made 3 and they sold super fast! So I made larger bags in various sizes and fabrics! All the Large bags will easily hold an adult sweater WIP and the Extra Large size will easily hold a generous Sweater WIP or a blanket WIP!!

I've also made only 2 Super Extra Large Blanket bags!! These are the largest bags I've made so far and would easily fit a Queen size or King size blanket WIP in it!! They are huge and super sweet!! It would also work well if you wanted to store all your WIP's in it 😉

 

The photos are quite deceiving but this bag is just over 29" tall 😳!!

Check out the Prairie Dye Studio Facebook Page for a detailed listing of all the project bags!!

Happy Shopping 😄

August 01, 2016

Restock at The Knitting Room!!

 

I was quite the Ninja on Friday and popped into The Knitting Room to drop off some new colorways!! There is 2 skeins of each on Anna's Sock!! It's the best selling base there so far 😄

Clockwise From Top Left: Campfire, Camping, 80s Baby, Realgar, SlyFox, Rosebud


So pop in and snag a skein or 2 while you can if your in Calgary!!

Happy Shopping 😄