Empire state of mind

It has been a hot & humid start to Summer here in the Hudson Valley.  I've been trying to squeeze in gardening & grilling all while doing tons of prep for Fall.  You wouldn't believe (or maybe you would) how much behind the scenes work goes into this yarn line.  I'm so excited about a couple brand new things I'll be releasing, but you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for those.

A couple weeks ago I dropped the last of this year's Rambouillet fleece off at Green Mountain Spinnery for them to work their magic on & turn it into Empire.   Empire is made with Rambouillet wool from a local flock in Albany county as well as some from out West - only because we've exceeded the output of the family farm I've been using! Empire is aran weight & put up in giant hanks of 1280yds, enough for a sweater in many cases and is also standard sized skeins of ~4oz 213 yds.

You can read about my start in dyeing, Empire & a bit about the farm that raises the sheep in Ysolda's book The Rhinebeck Sweater.  Also included is the fab pattern Artichoke French from Laura Nelkin.

Anna from Tolt Yarn & Wool with her Empire last year

Laura & I both wearing (and holding!) Empire shot by Ysolda

There is just something about Empire that makes it quite photogenic & fun to hug, some even tend to treat it a bit like a "yarn baby"...

I love seeing what people do with their Empires both before they get used & after, I've also been loving Instagram lately.  It is a fun way to share pictures & see little snippets of people's lives.  

So, I was thinking how about a little Instagram contest?

It's super simple:
* Post a pic of your Empire skein, your finished Empire project or if you haven't gotten you hands on Empire yet maybe the 'empty space' Empire would fill
* Please use the hashtag #jdmsempirestateofmind so I can find all the beautiful pictures!

ETA: I added JDMS to the front of the hashtag because I should have realized that lots of JayZ fans would already be using #empirestateofmind, but I didn't :) if you @jillmakesstuff I'll be sure to see it!

* That's it really it, be funny, be creative, be yourself!  

Oh, I almost forgot...you are probably wondering what you will get for sharing & tagging your lovely pictures? I've wrangled a few impartial judges with widely different tastes & they will each pick 1 picture to win a $100 gift certificate for Jill Draper Makes Stuff Yarn which you can redeem online or at a fiber fest that I'm vending at.  The contest will run from now until Labor Day, so you have plenty of time to play with pictures. There's no limit to how many you can enter, just start shooting!