Dye for Glory

One of the things that’s been super about the whole Sock Summit thing (and we think the fact that we can still think of super things is a very good sign) is the way that every time one of us has a big idea, it’s caught on like magic and spread like wildfire. One of the most fantastic things has been the Dye for Glory contest over at Ravelry – which accomplished exactly what we were hoping, that dyers would get a little face time, that we would all get to see some of their clever work and that they might sell a little yarn and boost their businesses. (I know that worked because one several of my favourite skeins didn’t win and I still intend to hunt them down and buy them in the Marketplace.)

In the end, 14 557 people voted and 154 828 votes were cast, and the masses have spoken.

Hop on over to the Results Page and you can see the grand and glorious winners, and if you’d like to see them in person, we’re going to round up a skein of each and put them in the Colour me Crazy Booth for the whole world to see. Congratulations Dyers. We love the way you do things, and a thousand thanks to Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather from Ravelry. You’re pretty freakin’ awesome too.

67 thoughts on “Dye for Glory

  1. Have to say how very proud of you I am! Two years ago I was thinking wow, I’ll never do a sock, it all looks too scary and difficult. One year ago I was saying the same thing, only a little more adamantly because I had then knit for a year and thought wow, if I’m having this much trouble with plain knitting, socks are totally out. But here I am with my first sock of my second pair of your lovely plain sock recipe on the needles and with my sister ever coaching me and I feel successful. All my knitting has improved me as a person. And you are the inspiration. Thank you! I want all the best for you at SS09.

  2. Oh, I thought I am going to be first, but the site wouldn’t let me comment :-(((
    I used to say I am not a sock knitter… I do my share of socks, but I do a lot of other things, but these yarns…just wow… gorgeous…even if none of my favourites von…
    And you should be proud… To think up all this and carry out. Such a great job you did. I am holding my fingers crossed for this weekend.

  3. Oh I do so love how infectious CRAZY WONDERFUL is. Kudos to all the wonderful dyers!
    And (my usual refrain)to the ever wonderful folks – ALL of ’em – behind SS09.
    You. All. Rock.

  4. Even with all the hard work, it’s so great to know that the ST folks are still loving the Sock Summit as a whole and delighting in its evolution. Congratulations to you all for making it a reality!

  5. All your hard work is appreciated, even by those of us who can’t always make it to the cool things you plan. ๐Ÿ™‚ Have fun (yes, fun!) at SS09. I hear the mayor of Portland declared it Sock Week!! ๐Ÿ˜€

  6. Wow – Three Irish Girls rocked out! I confess that I couldn’t keep my hot little hands off of their Alchemy colorway (Mosaic category) during the voting ๐Ÿ˜‰ Hooray for online shopping!

  7. Thanks so much for having all these headaches so we can all have fun. We entered 3 yarns in Dye for Glory. No winners, but we’ve got three new colorways we like, and we’ve had a few orders already! Have fun at SS’09. My yarn is going, but I’m not. Next time…

  8. It took me so long to contemplate each category that I never even got to finish voting in all of them, but it was really fun. Thanks to everyone involved! I LOVED how many of the names were PacificNorthWest influenced–I often went by name in tie-breakers in my mind.

  9. Some of my favorites didn’t win either but it was SUCH a hard choice. The competition was AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to see all these skeins at SS09. I know I’m going to have a terrible time deciding what I can afford to buy……….
    Thanks to all of you – the ST teams and Ravelry for making this happen. You guys are all THE BEST!!!!

  10. Oh, Dye for Glory totally worked. I won’t be there, but I’ve already placed a web order for some skeins of an entry. I’m sure I’m not the only one!
    Fabulous idea!

  11. I am going to celebrate my little corner of Sock Summit from here with my Georgia Peach when it arrives. I had so much fun oohing and aahing over all those skeins. Meantime, I’m going to go knit up some Blue Moon Love yarn.

  12. Been too darned busy to sit down and wander through the posts and colors and such so just catching up now.
    Wonderful colors, but sadly the more photos option seems to be out’awhack.
    Probably too late to ask this here, but you never know. With all these dyers coming outta the fumes so to speak ๐Ÿ˜‰ I’m wondering if anyone has any information on a 100% silk in laceweight (or sport, can’t recall for certain) called Fairy Godmother?
    I found it some time ago and wanted to make a shawl out of it for MY Fairy Godmother ๐Ÿ™‚ (my kids even call her FGG :P) who has done some incredible things for me along the way.
    The colors are dark and dramatic ๐Ÿ™‚ (jut like her) with splashes of turquioise, and reds and purples…
    Gotta find it! ๐Ÿ™‚ She’s coming up on a very important anniversary of becoming a Cancer Survivor and I really really want to gift her with this.
    I’m Aishling on Ravelry (and yes I’ve searched there)

  13. Stephanie, you’ve been an incredible inspiration to me from the get-go. Thank you.

  14. None of my favorites won but I have already purchased some yarn that was entered from one of the contestants. Dye for Glory was a fantastic contest and I really enjoyed taking part in the voting process.

  15. Such gorgeous colors; I wanted to plunge my hands into piles and piles of those gorgeous yarns. Instead, I had to settle for voting for my favorite colors – and tough choices were they! What a glorious idea Dye for Glory is. ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Wow. Those are glorious! I missed the judging (on purpose, because I didn’t want to put myself in front of temptation), but these are beautiful examples of the dyer’s art.

  17. it was so hard to pick winners in the Dye for Glory contest… even though most of my picks didn’t win, I did enjoy some moderate stash enhancement ๐Ÿ™‚

  18. I agree – the dyers did a great job, and there are several of my choices that didn’t get selected, that I’ll be hunting down and buying as well…
    Thanks to you for starting this whole thing, and thanks to the Rav crew for jumping onto the bandwagon in a really fun way!

  19. Wow! 3 of my choices were winners! It was a tough choice tho’, very hard to pick just one favourite in each category. What I would give to be there and be able to squish and squeeze those skeins!

  20. Hmm, it doesn’t look like my favorites won but I did because I totally stashed them!

  21. Wow!!!! I actually picked some winners. Now, I have to find out how to buy Sophie’s Toes even though I won’t be at the Sock Summit.

  22. A few minutes ago, Mrs. Bosslady hied out of here to finish her packing and hit the road for Portland, leaving me to play yarnstore for a week. I’m trying to focus on the joy in that, instead of feeling a greenish bitterness about missing WoodSock.
    My only request of my pal, Mrs. Bosslady (other than reminding her of my favourite colours) was to please tell everyone she met that the Summit simply *had* to happen again, and that (aside from ST and teachers) anyone who went the first time would have to stand down and let the others go. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Nothing but happy thoughts to you, Rachel and the rest of the gang.

  23. Stephanie and SS Gang,
    What a fun idea – the whole Sock Summit experience! I am so happy that I will be there and get to take part in it.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
    I only picked one of the winners, but it was really hard to choose –
    Great job dyers!!!

  24. OMG! I can hardly stand how beautiful those all are! Totally gorgeous! Congratulations to all the winners! And to those who didn’t win your entries were beautiful, too!

  25. Thank you for inclusion to sock knitters who can’t attend SS09. It felt lovely to be included. All kudos to inspirational dyers and much prosperous success to them. Advance!

  26. Don’t I wish I could have been there. Maybe another year (if I save very, very, very, hard). i adore knitting socks and wearing them is just as good. Most of them are in yarn I have spun, the nicest was wool plied with a boucle silk which gave me a sport weight yarn and wearing them was like having your feet massaged and cuddled. Gorgeous.
    Can you take knitting needles on planes now?

  27. Thanks for letting us vote on the fabulous yarns, they were all winners! I agree that people who go this time don’t get first dibs on the next time so that those of us who didn’t get in can go next time ๐Ÿ™‚ Some of us cannot get on-line to register during working hours and were closed out by the time we got home ๐Ÿ™ There just HAS to be a next time. Have a great time at SS09 so that we get to have a SS10! Thanks to Rav and all involved for letting us be involved by voting on the beautiful dyed yarns. Knit on all you Sockers!

  28. If you think you’re tired now, just wait!! Do you realize that all of us expect you to relay SS09 to us every day? While we are at work and at home, going through the motions of our daily routines, we will experience SS09 through you!! More pictures please!!

  29. WOW! From this Irish girl to Three Irish Girls – gorgeous, every one. I drooled over all of them and I tried to wait another couple of days to see them in person but then I hit Zephyr and my knees buckled. My order has been placed; so much for MY willpower.
    Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, all you dyers.

  30. The Dye for Glory winners are all fabulous. As a matter of fact, the non winners are pretty fabulous too!
    “Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather from Ravelry. You’re pretty freakin’ awesome too.”
    Agree 1,000,000

  31. When I voted for the Dye for Glory yarns I decided I would treat myself and buy some since I couldn’t go to SS. I bought 3 of the Irishgirls winners! How cool is that. Now I will have a little “souvenir” of SS….sigh…

  32. As someone who lives on the other side of the world who doesn’t have the opportunity to go to Sock Summit, it was a great way to have a little part of the excitement. While my tastes obviously didn’t match those of other voters, it introduced me to another fabulous yarn dyer and yes, I’ve already put in a pre-order at her Etsy shop to be sent to me after the summit. So thank-you SO much to all the people who worked so hard to get this competition going. It was very worthwhile.

  33. I love the skeins that won. I love the skeins that didn’t win, too… that’s why it was so hard to vote. This was a great idea. The dyers deserve all the recognition they can get, otherwise we’d be knitting with plain off-white yarn all the time.
    I keep hoping I’ll bump into you before the Summit… my husband and I got to Portland on Monday and we are doing the tourist thing ’til Thursday. Then he becomes a knitting widower. Payback for all the chess widow time I’ve done.

  34. Thanks for running such a cool contest! Even though we didn’t win, it was really a lot of fun and we ended up with 3 great new colorways! It was very neat to see what the other dyers came up with. I think one of the coolest things about dyeing is that you can give a bunch of us the exact same colors and they will all come up with something different. There’s nothing like a little outside motivation to get the creative juices flowing. I’m sure that for you, Tina, and the rest of the Sock Summit team, your time and energy are probably your most precious resource right now (Oh and sleep! Lets not forget sleep!) so using some of each to run the contest is much appreciated! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the contest possible and congratulations to all the winners!

  35. Wow, congrats to the dyers. I know I had a real, real hard time voting. And I will def. be seeking some of these out for purchase.
    And congrats to the Sock Team. It looks like it is going to be a fabulous event. I wish I were going. Someday, I’ll get to attend something epic, someday.

  36. Thank you so much for including those of us who can’t go in the Sock Summit. The dyer contest was a great idea, and it was great that Ravelry provided a site for everyone to vote. In a time when independents of every sort need business encouragement, this kind of opportunity will go far. I am anxiously awaiting the time when these yarns are available to the general knitting public.

  37. That was such a great idea and a fun contest and a few of the yarns I voted for won! There were so many lovelies–every one who entered should be proud of their beautiful work. It just amazes me what y’all have been able to put together for SS09 and how great Ravelry is as a vehicle for something like this contest. Have fun everybody!

  38. Wow, really beautiful! I’ve been having a dry spell with my knitting and those colors are calling me back.

  39. None of the ones I voted on won.
    I think I should be given the loser skeins of yarn as yarn compensation for mental distress inflicted.

  40. Why oh why does the Sock Summit have to be in Portland when I live in the east? Beautiful, beautiful yarn. Hope everyone has a wonderful time and I already know it will be a success!

  41. The Dye for Glory winners are gorgeous. LOVE IT! Got to find the time to look thru those that didn’t win. I’m inspired to get my dye pot out.
    Hope SS is a huge success – wish I could be there – even tho I’m not much of a sock knitter!

  42. A skein of each winner in a particular booth. Man, if I was more practiced in the cat burglary department, there’s where I’d hit first!

  43. Thank you for such a fun and fabulous contest! All the entries were so pretty. It was such a great chance for us small dyers to reach a wide audience–thank you!
    ps. Hope you get a chance to actually relax and enjoy SS09–and wear PANTS!

  44. They are all lovely. I wish I were able to attend SS, but I have to be content with the Allegan (Michigan) Fibre Fair. I love knitting socks…

  45. Dye for Glory rocked! I am sooo excited that some of the colourways will be available on Etsy soon, since I’m not going to be at SS’09. I’m also super psyched that some of my favorites won, and some of the very close second places won too! I had a really hard time deciding. Have fun and thanks for all the hard work!

  46. After looking at the results from the Dye for Glory competition, I think that people who enter have a better chance of winning if they include a picture of their yarn knitted (on the needles is fine). I was surprised how different yarn can look from being in a skein to a knitted product. One yarn that I didn’t like in the skein looked remarkable (in a good way) when it was knitted. I am not a spinner or a dyer, so I lack the eye for the finished product sometimes. Over all, the yarns were great and the contest was very innovative. I hope you’re doing this next year!!

  47. The Dye for Glory competition was an awesome idea. Such beautiful yarns, gorgeous color combinations and ingenious inspiration. How can you look at those wonderful colors and not know exactly which pattern you’re going to knit into a glorious pair of socks.

  48. I can’t wait to meet you Friday here in Portland. My niece and I will be there hopefully wearing matching, hand knit socks.

  49. Out of the mouths of babes! To Lynn who commented on August 5th!!! Why can’t “THE EAST” have its OWN rivalry Sock Summit in BOSTON!!!! or NEW YORK!!!! Why can’t we?????? If anyone is interested in this, I am bluelustrecat on Ravelry. Write me!!!

  50. I loved the color choices in ‘Dyeing For Glory’, especially ‘Georgia Peach’. My one regret is that I’ll never be able to knit with any of them, since I’m allergic to wool.

  51. It’s wonderful. I would love too see them in “person” (that won’t happen any time soon, with the crash and all that) but I can dream… None of my choices won, but that doesn’t matter, they are all lovely.

  52. i agree w/marilyn’s comment that yarn knitted up looks really different than in a skein. i had so much enjoyment just viewing all the wonderful color combinations that it was very difficult to just pick 1 in each category!! great job everyone!

  53. I’m not a dyer but loved voting in the contest. Great exposure for all of the participants! I’m amazed at how Three Irish Girls swept the competition:) None of this bodes well for my austerity measures…

  54. What creative people. Eons ago I was dying w/plants and dropped b/c well, they were boring colors. Liked voting Rav sure can pull rabbits out of a hat with inspiration and way hard work. Hope SS was what you envisioned. From posts/chats/etc seems like a BIG hit.

  55. Dear Yarn Harlot, I think you are fantastic and your knitting advice is unbelievably accurate and easy to follow. You have been a life saver for me with a knitted cabled baby blanket I am working on for a new grandbaby.
    Thank you again, you are a Saint,
    Grammie Sandy

  56. Is the rumour true there may be a sock summit in Toronto in 2011? (Read the rumour on Ravelry). Please????
    I’ll volunteer to help!

  57. i sadly missed the sock summit in portland, where i just moved AWAY from this yr… TELL me there will be another one someday! stephanie, your writing keeps me chuckling. thank you for all of it.

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