Miss Babs Blog

Babs Ausherman

You may not know it, but Spring is my absolute favorite season. Why? Because color returns to the landscape along with more sunlight. Yes, I am a SAD sufferer, but... Read More

What's New - Babette vs. Wild Iris

Veronica Parsons

We don't talk a lot about exactly how the dye magic happens here at Miss Babs (hey, we have to have some secrets!) but today we're going to go into... Read More

"State of the Studio" - 2015

Babs Ausherman

The POTUS (President of the United States) gets a State of the Union and GOTN (Governor of Tennessee) get a State of the State, I might as well get to have a State of the Studio. 2015 brings us to a bustling year and we are absolutely busting at the seams in the studio in terms of people and yarn as we prep for shows. And we want to thank everyone who participated in the Annual Gratitude Sale! It emptied our racks - which now means I am dyeing madly... Read More

Spring is Here!! and More about 2014

Babs Ausherman

We are barely into the fourth month of the year and it has already been very...busy, crazy, emotional, whelming and overwhelming, and filled with lots of dyeing and readying for shows. Personal and business has been much intermixed--not always what one wants, but sometimes you just can't not mix the two. Many of you know that my apprentice, Jen H., was was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which has required chemotherapy and radiation. This has been a difficult space of time for all, and most of all for Jen who... Read More

Rhinebeck and SAFF - Coming up Fast!

Veronica Parsons

Autumn is here and two big shows are coming very soon! We are dyeing like crazy to have lots of beautiful yarns for you. Here is some yarn drying in the studio... And some yarn waiting to be twisted... Of course we’ll have lots and lots of your favorites - we are practically bursting with gorgeous skeins of Yowza and Yummy - but Rhinebeck will be the first place you can see Katahdin, our new light fingering weight BFL in giant 1750-yard skeins. Looking for a... Read More

Daylilies in the Garden

Babs Ausherman

Here are some of the daylilies that are blooming right now in my garden. I don't know the names of any of them, as I picked them for their colors and some were gifts. The wonderful thing about my daylilies are that they are right across the drive from the studio and add wonderful color to my day. My sister Jeanne and I planted many of these about 10 years ago in memory of my mother - who loved to garden and see things grow.... Read More

All Aboard! Miss Babs 2013 Knitting Tour

Babs Ausherman

We've had a blast on the 2012 Knitting Tour, and are now pleased to invite you to join us on our second year of the Miss Babs Knitting Tour! We don't want to give away too much, so all we will say at present is that we will again visit 4 locations. This year there are 2 islands, 3 cities, and 2 continents, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. We will travel in March, June, September, and December, giving you plenty of time to explore (and knit in!) each stop. This past year we visited... Read More

October 2012 - Shows and New Introductions!!

Babs

It's been awfully quiet here on the blog...because so much has been happening that there simply hasn't been time to write!! But here's what is Happening!! Rhinebeck! and SAFF! Rhinebeck is also known as the New York Sheep & Wool Festival and the full name of SAFF is Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. With 2 shows in 2 weeks, I have been dyeing everything in sight for Rhinebeck and SAFF! [caption id="attachment_1219" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Getting ready for the shows!![/caption] Big Orange (our trailer) is getting packed for our... Read More

New Patterns in Our Yarns!

Babs

There have been several new patterns in our yarns released recently! The newest of these are in the May- July 2012 issue of Cast On, the magazine published by TKGA. There is the amazingly gorgeous Vlad's Tunic by Arenda Holladay, using our Northumbria DK: [caption id="attachment_1119" align="aligncenter" width="340" caption="Vlad's Tunic by Arenda Holladay"][/caption] As well as the uniquely constructed Once Around the Ankle Socks by Charles Gandy in our Northumbria Fingering: [caption id="attachment_1120" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Once Around the Ankle by Charles Gandy"][/caption] A very Northumbria issue! As... Read More

While the Cats are Away...

Babs

Now that Babs and the Jens are gone, the dust is settling and we are taking stock of what is left here at the studio. Although Jen was INCREDIBLY greedy in what she took with her for Stitches West, we do still have some new colors here, which I will be putting up over the course of the next few days... [caption id="attachment_1064" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Serengeti on Yowza"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1065" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Felicity on Yet"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1071" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Spring Tonic on Yummy 2-ply"][/caption] Yesterday I added some photos... Read More

We've Been Searching for that One Right Word or Phrase...Can You Help?

Babs

As many of you know, I do lots of repeatable colorways in monochromes and handpaints. But I have also started doing a lot of "one of a kind" colorways that are essentially limited editions. We have tried using the phrase "A Day at ..." as a way to indicate this difference, and then we couldn't find more that didn't sound really contrived. We have done a selection of "The Wreck of..." (which we will continue to do) but these tend to have a lot of blue. And then we... Read More

A Fiber Post...Finally!

Babs

Jen here: Fiber. It's there at the end of the name of the business! We certainly don't mean to give fiber the short end of the stick here at Miss Babs, even if that stick has a beautiful whorl from the Bosworth's or the Dyak's. So here today we will focus on fiber, and we start with one of our favorites - Bluefaced Leicester. BFL is at the top of our favorites list for a variety of practical reasons. It exhibits an almost ideal compromise between softness and durability. This... Read More