The Verdant Gryphon

Hello, yarn.

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Before launching into update details, a newsflash on Metallic Fly: As you may have realized we have not restocked Metallic Fly since it appeared on May 1. There has been such a drought I have even received emails about it. So, let me copy a Ravelry post from Gryphon that summarizes:

"It’s like this: As you may have heard me qvetching, Metallic Fly has turned out to be more difficult to dye than we thought. My original batch was relatively bright, though not quite as brightly variegated as we thought it should be. Other dyers in the studio after that had varying levels of success - some pots came out like mine, some were much more muddy and brown, and a few were very strongly variegated, but had splotches and pale areas that weren’t good. Finally, last week, I went back to the drawing board and completely redid the dyeing technique. I was able to get consistent results of exactly what we wanted in all the bases. The hitch? It takes hours and every skein needs to go back for touch-ups.

So what does all this mean for you? Well, we’re half way through May already and haven’t produced nearly enough Metallic Fly to satisfy anyone yet. With the new version being much so slow, there’s no way we can catch up in the second half of the month and make everyone happy. So in the interests of leaving no one frustrated, we have decided to extend the dyeing of Metallic through June. That means we’ll introduce only two other colours of the month in June, and keep dyeing MF. Sound okay to everyone?"

Here's a peek:

The month keeps marching on and our next update is this coming Monday, May 21 around 9:00 pm EDT. On the roster:

1. Burying Beetle in Bugga!, Shesmu in Eidos, Alphaville in Traveller and Double Indemnity in Mithril
2. Periodical Cicada in Bugga!, Justice in Eidos and Morocco in Traveller
3. Purple Winged Walking Stick in Bugga!, Parmenides in Eidos and Lisbon in Traveller

And a pictorial sampling:

Bugga!, Burying Beetle:

Traveller, Alphaville:

Eidos, Justice:

Traveller, Morocco:

Bugga!, Purple Winged Walking Stick:

Eidos, Parmenides:

Please refer to the listings when they are viewable for photos of all the offerings.

And for the following week, the update of May 28, we have our brand new colour creation that is still to be named and still to be photographed. I assure you, though, you will want this one. Think in terms of Monet's water lilies:

This colour will be the 3rd out of 4 installments of the Archivist Club. Even though May 28th is Memorial Day and a US federal holiday, we will still be running the update as normal around 10:00 am EDT.

muddy shoes and earthworms,

Rachel the Oracle

Yarn Hangover

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Thanks to everyone for a great Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! You indulged and bought and shopped and squeezed and swooned and generally lived it up. And now that it is all over and the music has stopped, the kettle corn is no longer popping, the sheep have gone home and there is but a gentle breeze blowing through the vacant booths, it seems there is still yarn left at the end of the show, so what to do, what to do?

Perhaps an update? Yea, yea, that's a great idea. We will put all of that random yarn in Monday's update. The update is this coming Monday, May 14 at 10:00 am EDT. We will have an assortment of colours in all four bases. You can expect to find colours from past updates, experimental love children, and old colours the dyers made specifically for the show that didn't sell. There may even be a colour or two on sale. Let me give you a sampling:

Bugga!: Potter Wasp, Devil's Flower Mantis, Sitticus Jumping Spider
Traveller: Coney Island, San Zhi, Venezia
Eidos: iSkein, Kanaloa, Argos
Mithril: Almond Branches in Bloom, Antibes

The Official VG Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we have varying quantities for the colours. If you are ordering multiple skeins, we will do our best to match them. If we are unable to get a good match, we will go ahead and send them to you. Also, we will not be taking new pictures for most of the colours, so pics may not be quite accurate of the skeins we have on hand.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to add that we have one other addition to Monday's update. The new blue is ready and we want to put it up for sale along with the random yarn. Gryphon will be making the listings soon for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime its name is The Caterpillar in Bugga!, The Rabbit Hole in Eidos, Wonderland in Traveller and Alice in the Rabbit's Hole in Mithril.

And now we have come to the part in the blog where I reveal the following week's update. For Monday, May 21, may I present:

Bugga!, Burying Beetle:

Bugga!, Periodical Cicada:

Traveller, Lisbon:

Photos are from SG archives and may not be a perfect representation of the new dye lots.

In next week's blog I will let you know exactly what bases we are offering and their names along with current photos. Interestingly Lisbon was never dyed on Bugga!, which is why the Traveller photo is shown.

And at last, the most important part of the blog:

Happy Mother's Day!

On Sunday, May 13 when you are in the midst of Mum celebrations and succumb to the burning desire to buy yarn, you will be entered to win a coupon for 25% off any future order. We will select three winners on Monday using the illustrious Sir Random Number Generator (aka, SirRNGE. You'all get it, right? Like Syringe... oh I do crack myself up - but few others I dare say). I was feeling quite pleased with myself however when, during a period of unemployment, I established the DoLRS fund - in other words Don't Let Rachel Starve fund. Ironically a friend donated Euros. But I digress..... To recap, any yarn order (excluding "in the nude," sorry) placed on May 13 is eligible for the drawing.

Warm wishes to all.....and

flowers and gifts of yarn.

Rachel the Oracle

A Poem for a Tuesday Afternoon

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

As long as it isn't paining anyone, I would very much enjoy incorporating a poem every now and again in the blog to add a bit of variety to the yarn news. After all, with so much colour inspiration surrounding me, my literary inspiration is getting jealous. :)

rhyme and meter,

Rachel the Oracle

Love Song

How shall I hold my soul
to not intrude upon yours? How shall I
lift it beyond you to other things?
I would gladly lodge it
with lost objects in the dark,
in some far still place
that does not tremble when you tremble.

But all that touches us, you and me,
plays us together, like the bow of a violin
that from two strings draws forth one voice.
On what instrument are we strung?
What musician is playing us?
Oh sweet song.

-from New Poems, Rainer Maria Rilke

Too Much Wool on the Brain

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

It seems that the MD Sheep and Wool Festival got the best of me: I forgot to blog on Thursday.

So, here we are with a rough and tumble version (and very abridged) that I am cranking out on Sunday. As it is the weekend I am afraid I do not have access to current photos, so the archival photos will have to suffice until the listings are up tomorrow. Please refer to the current photos once they are posted as we are seeing some variation in the yarn from these photos.

This week's update is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, May 7 around 9:00 pm EDT. On the menu are three colours:

1. The Gold Bug (Bugga!,) Qom (Traveller), Monadology (Eidos)

2. Arachne (Bugga!), Johnson Lane (Traveller), Beyond Good and Evil (Eidos)

3. Purple Tree Frog (Bugga!), Bergen (Traveller), Clio (Eidos), Queens Daisies (Mithril)

Photos are from the archives and the same that appeared in the prior week's blog.

The Gold Bug;

Arachne:

Bergen:

And for next week, May 14, we will be listing all of the random yarn that has come back from the show. Which means this week guess what we will be doing? Methinks counting skeins in our sleep.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody.

Baaa......

Rachel the Oracle

It's Sheep and Wool Time!

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

How did this happen? The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is THIS WEEKEND! Craziness. Well, I think we're actually fairly ready. We've been stashing yarn for months, so we have a pretty solid supply to fill the shelves and to restock some on Sunday. Jamie the Choreographer and I will be working the booth all weekend, with extra help and break relief from Rachel the Oracle and beloved volunteers Lisa and Laura. You'll find our booth in the main building, A20, about half way up the left side.

In previous years, when we didn't have a booth, I've organised a picnic meetup, and we really want to do it again this year. Happily our booth is right next to a door which opens onto the grassy hillside beside the building, a perfect spot for picnicing. I have no idea how busy we'll be, but we're hoping to be able to take turns stealing moments away to visit and, if we get really lucky, actually shove some food in our faces. Or booze. Booze might be good.

I took a poll on Ravelry, and it looks like Saturday is the preferred picnic day for most, at noon. So come and gather, bring your lunch, and visit with your VG friends!

Overstuffed bins and gridwall hooks,

Gryphon

Ice Cream or Gelato?

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Ice cream or gelato...after consulting several academic resources, the mystery is solved. Both luscious desserts have cream, whole milk, and eggs. However, ice cream has a greater proportion of cream to whole milk than gelato. Additionally, gelato is served at a slightly warmer temperature and also sometimes churned slower, which results in less air.

I have the most amazing memories of Venice. Walking the streets at dawn when the gondolas are unloading crates of fresh produce, the panetterias smell of warm bread and espresso, and the rainbow array of gelato is displayed on every block. In Italy, you can eat gelato at any time of day-a perfectly suitable breakfast choice.

May is Artisan Gelato month and here are the three colourways coming out of our recipe books.

The Artisan Gelato colourways are (*images shown are SG archival photos):

Metallic Fly (Bugga!), Tuscany (Traveller), Poesis (Eidos), Crozant Solitude (Mithril)

Blue Orchard Bee (Bugga!), Atlantis (Traveller), Cleitophon (Eidos), Dinky Bird (Mithril)

Northern Purple Gold Beetle (Bugga!), Pantanal (Traveller), Bacchic (Eidos), La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Mithril)

These three colourways will be available in all bases for one month. Artisan Gelato colourways will be available starting on May 1 (around 4 pm EDT) through May 31^st. The initial offering will be smaller quantities, but fear not, we will be restocking through all of May.

Indulge a bit in some yarn and gelato (or ice cream I guess, if gelato can’t be found), a mid morning snack or a late night treat. This might be the VG elves favourite month yet. We’ll try not to let the dye pots sit idle too long, while we are trying out as many flavors as we can find. Oooh, or even better-MAKE!

Be sure to visit the Colourways of the Month Ravelry thread for an Artisan Gelato contest!

Pistachio and Bourbon Vanilla,

Jamie

Brushing Up on Alliteration

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

It is always fun when we can get you, our customers involved in the colour creation process through submissions of inspirational photos. Many of the towns around here have instituted "First Friday" or "Second Saturday" special events at art galleries complete with wine and cheese and lots of socializing. At VG we like to uncork the wine and brew new creations based on customer input for "Fifth Monday." (Okay, yea, not a lot of alliteration in that one.) Our Fifth Monday new colour is inspired by the winning photo - post #45 posted by the Radiant and Resplendent Raveler, RainbowButterfly. (Phew! I feel better now having redeemed myself in the grammatical sense.)

Our update is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT this coming Monday, April 30th. We will have fixed quantities of Bugga!, Eidos, Traveller and Mithril. This colour is also part of the April-May-June Archivist Club.

Bugga!, Crimson Dropwing:

Eidos, Lilith:

Traveller, Uluru:

Mithril, A Mon Seul Desir:

The update following next will find us in May and will take place on Monday, May 7 around 9:00 pm EDT. We are bringing three goodies out of retirement in fixed quantities: The Gold Bug, Arachne and "never-dyed-on-Bugga" Bergen. The Gold Bug and Arachne were both part of The Sanguine Gryphon's Winter 2010 seasonal selection, and Bergen dates to the early, early days when we were still in Gryphon's backyard.

(Photos are SG archival)

Bugga!, The Gold Bug:

Bugga!, Arachne:

Traveller, Bergen

And last but not least, it occurred to us that it is high time we find a reason to use a Random Number Generator. And you know what the RNG means, right?

A LOTTERY!

And not just any lottery but a MegaVerdant Lottery with not but one, but (count 'em) THREE winners!

When you place your yarn order between 12:01 am and 11:59 pm EDT this Sunday, April 29 you will automatically be entered to win one of three coupons valued for a 25% discount. In other words, ordering your yarn anytime on Sunday will make you eligible. On Monday, we will fire up the RNG and select three winners using the order number(s) as your entry(ies). And what wonderful weeks when we await winners! (alright, alright, I will stop now.)

silly, sleek supersnakes and pictures of pandas painting,

Rachel the Oracle

ps. just a mention that Jamie will be posting the blog with details on May's theme and colours of the month tomorrow (Friday.)

Black Pots and Swallowtails

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Pour, stir, pour stir…yikes…this looks like a big black glob. Pull yarn out of pots. Drip, drip, rinse. Colour begins to appear, streaks of teal and navy emerge, shades of forest to emerald green, warm browns. Rinse again, spin, hang. And then the Oracle glides by…"Almost Choreographer elf. Needs a little more variagation." The Oracle has spoken- back to the pots it is!

But first the scope on next week’s update!

For Monday, April 23^rd we have our brand new VG colour: Dyeing Poison Frog in Bugga!, Traveller (called Praha), and Mithril (called Cologne Cathedral)

Sitticus Jumping Spider in Bugga!, Traveller (called 29 Avenue Rapp) and Mithril (called Woman Under the Willows). Both colourways will be offered in fixed quantities. It is an evening update scheduled for 9 pm EDT.

Also...

This month we have special treat of a 5^th week, which means another new creation is coming. The following week’s update on Monday, April 30^th at 10 am EDT will be the VG Customer Photo Inspiration colourway. Pictures must be posted by tomorrow and polling will be open through the weekend.

Remember...

Calling all Apr-Jun Archivist Club members! The two April club installments (Dyeing Poison Frog and the Customer Photo Inspriation Colourway) will ship together the week of April 30.

Much Love!

Jamie

Tea and a Poem

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

It was rather warm yesterday, and in the evening, after running a somewhat long errand leaving me feeling frazzled, I was able to cozy down into my couch with a cup of tea, my favourite poetry and my windows wide open welcoming the glorious spring breeze. Sipping my soothing cup of Ukiurtatuq, (a tea from the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec made by the Inuits) I lightly page through Mary Oliver's "New and Selected Poems," and fall upon Wild Geese. I would like to share that with you now, so grab your mug, tune out the world, and enjoy your own soothing 3-minute respite.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -----
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

tranquility and spring fever,

Rachel the Oracle

Opportunities Abound

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

We have come on around to another Thursday and it's no surprise that next week's update will be your next opportunity to purchase Traveller in a custom-dye format. The update is scheduled for this coming Monday, April 16 at 10:00 am EDT and we will list a fixed quantity of 50 "units." (unit = 4-skein lot) All of the same guidelines apply as last time. To recap:

- Orders will be for a dye lot of 4 skeins (this is the quantity of skeins we dye in each pot); you may purchase as many "units" (ie. set of 4 skeins) as you want and are available.

- A disclaimer for ordering multiple lots (8 or more skeins): we cannot absolutely guarantee a really good match. The more skeins that are ordered the higher the chance that there will be variablitity between pots. Only in cases where pots are radically different will we dye another round to achieve a good match. If there are moderate differences, we will send them on.

- Each unit is priced at $100.00 (again, a unit is 4 skeins); normal shipping rates apply. These are being offered at $25/skein instead of the usual $20 to cover the extra work of custom dyeing.

- You may request any VG or former SG colour (from the Easton studio -- please click this link for a spreadsheet of possible colours.) If in doubt, when ordering, list a first and second choice in case the first is not possible. Upon checkout please indicate the colour you want.

- If you are ordering mulltiple lots and want different colours, please indicate this in the comment section, but colours must be in multiples of 4 skeins.

- We reserve the right to veto a request due to lost recipes, non-Easton colours, prone to bleeding, etc. If we do veto your choice, we will let you know the reason and give you the option to select another colour or cancel it for a full refund.

- Please note that It could take us up to 2 weeks to complete the dyeing and shipping of all the orders.

- If you order other yarn with the custom dye, it will not ship until the custom dye is finished.

- While the elves work some amazing colour magic, they still have limitations. One of those limitiations is that it is nearly impossible to dye a batch to look like a stash photo. Please do not send a photo or a link to a photo and request that we dye it to look like that photo. A comment such as, "heavy on the blue," or "with bright areas of red" is a bit more manageable, but we still cannot guarantee the outcome will be just that.

For the following week's update, to take place on Monday, April 23 around 9:00 pm EDT, we have our monthly brand new VG colour. This will also be the first shipment of the April-May-June Archivist Club (see below.) In addition to this yet-to-be-unveiled colour, we will be offering a fixed quantity of Sitticus Jumping Spider in Bugga!, Traveller and Mithril (this colour is not part of the Archivist Club):

Photo is in Bugga! and from the SG archives. A current photo will be available next week:

April-May-June Archivist Club

We are in our new quarter and it's time to fan the archivist fever once again. The April - June Archivist Club will be available for purchase this coming Sunday, April 15 at two times: 10:00 am EDT and 9:00 pm EDT. This club has 4 new colours in it, to be released on April 23rd and 30th, May 28th and June 25th (all Mondays.) We have in total, 60 club memberships in Bugga!, 20 Traveller memberships, and 10 memberships each in Eidos and Mithril. Half of the memberships will be listed in the morning and half in the evening. In the interest of keeping this blog just a blog and not turning it into a novella, please follow the links below for details on the Archivist Club:

Bugga! Edition
Traveller Edition
Eidos Edition
Mithril Edition

Now, I leave you to contemplate the Traveller project of your dreams, your Archivist goals and the meaning behind the two items with which I sign off, as in...

porpoises and rye bread,

Rachel the Oracle

Like Painting Eggs

blah-blah@verdantgryphon.com (gryphon) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

It's blog day and we are approaching our update next week. For Monday, April 9 we have fixed quantities of Yellow Dung Fly in Bugga! and Traveller (called Monk's Misery, MD), and Golden Orb Weaver in Bugga!, Traveller (called The Five Continents), Eidos (called Neo-Kantianism), and Mithril (called Madame Monet and Her Son.) It is an evening update scheduled for 9:00 pm EDT.

On a side note, some people were wondering what the difference is between Yellow Dung Fly and our current standard, Greater Pond Snail. While the differences are subtle, Yellow Dung Fly leans more bright, lemony yellow, while Greater Pond Snail is golden-toned. Because these two colours are similar, we are only dyeing YDF on Bugga and Traveller.

Bugga!, Yellow Dung Fly

Traveller, Monk's Misery, MD:

Bugga!, Golden Orb Weaver:

Traveller, The Five Continents:

Photos in Eidos and Mithril will appear with the individual listing, which will be active on Monday since Gryphon has been out all of this week.

For the following week's update, scheduled on Monday, April 16 at 10:00 am EDT, we bring you a reprise of the Traveller custom dye, called "Custom Time Travel." All of the same guidelines apply as last time and I will repost those in next week's blog. We have received a few requests to do a custom dye like this but on Bugga!, so look for that option coming in the not-so-distant future. Since we may shift to offering it on Bugga!, consider this the last chance to get custom dyed Traveller for at least a couple of months if not longer.

May the sun shine on your face and the bunnies in your life hop in glee.

marshmallow peeps and hidden eggs,

Rachel the Oracle