What’s in a Name?

Last weekend was lots of fun. I was teaching at the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I hope to be teaching there again in 2016 and will let you all know as those dates and classes are decided on. Hopefully more of you can join me there.

One of the major sponsors for the event was the Brown Sheep Company. I have used Brown Sheep yarns for years in my felting projects. My favorite thing about their “Lambspride” yarn is the color doesn’t fade away with heat felting, which means I can depend on my finished project having the same colors as the yarns I picked out. And I love that they are a “Made in the USA” product.

At the fair this weekend attendees could sign up for a tour of the Mill where the lovely yarns are created. Brown Sheep is a family owned business and our tour guide, Andrew, is the most recent generation working there. You can learn more about their company history by visiting their website here: BrownSheep.com.

It was really fun to see all the stages the fiber goes thru from clean fiber in “bumps” to the almost rope like fluffy roving that goes into the spinning machines. A lot of us on the tour found the rope like look of the fiber ready to be fed into the machines very beautiful.

Now, of course there was yarn, and being I was at a Fiber Arts  event some yarn had to come home with me.

While at the fairgrounds I met one of the vendors that is actually from my neck of the woods. ShelleyLyn Designs. She hails from the Longmont area and had some lovely knit products as well as patterns. Of course I was drawn to her beautiful hand-spun yarn and had to adopt 2 hanks of this gorgeous pink and black yarn. I’m thinking I’ll be coming up with a lovely hat or headband to wear this winter when the cold-weather “blahs” are making me wish for summer again.

At the end of the tour at the Brown Sheep Company there were mill-ends of yarn and fiber that could be purchased. A few balls of yarn needed to come home with me again.

When I initially spotted this ball I thought the color was a gray. Then I got a closer look and realized it had a wonderful combination of lavender and 2 different greens called “Green Envy”.

I got these 3 balls with something pretty for the Fall season in mind. I’m often drawn to the warm fall colors, though I don’t wear them as frequently as I used to.

These 2 balls of Navy yarn are either going to be a hat or slippers for my youngest son this Christmas. He isn’t quite as avid about hats as his Dad and older brother, so I am waffling on what I’ll pick for his Christmas gift.

Meanwhile, one of the projects I was working away on before leaving for the fair, is this lovely new Shawl design. I made this shawl with Brown Sheep’s  “Wildfoote” luxury sock yarn. It was a perfect choice for a lace construction that I wanted to aggressively block.

Peggy of Brown Sheep was delighted to see the shawl when we got together at the fair on Friday. She was threatening to take it away with her, but I did persuade her to let me hold on to it so I can get the pattern published first. This pattern is going to be available the 25th of September.  But it needs a name and I am stuck on 3 different ones.

Fleur de Lis Shawl

Royal Veil Shawl

Mountain Whisper Shawl

I thought it would be fun for all my readers to help choose which one of the 3 I will use. So I’ve set up a little survey for you to vote on. Everyone that votes will get a coupon code to use for 15% off the pattern the first 3 weeks it is available. Voting will start today at Noon thru 10 p.m. September 22nd.

Update: Well the survey site I chose isn’t working properly.  So change of plans, vote in the comments below: Tell me which name you like best (can only pick one) and I’ll send you the coupon code thru your email (codes will be sent next week after the voting ends). Please don’t share the coupon code with others.

I’ll post the winning shawl name and the link to the pattern in my Ravelry shop on Friday, September 25th.  No matter which name wins, all who vote will be a winner. Just be sure you go to the survey site to vote to get the coupon code.

I’ll leave you with a bit of poetry from William Shakespeare, who had Juliet speak some thoughts about names in “Romeo and Juliet”:

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, retain that dear perfection for which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself.”