Dying Desire

I hadn't had my dye pots out for over a year. . . A YEAR! That's not normal, so the Queen and I decided to remedy that problem while she was up.

We mostly dyed fiber, as we were on a spinning high from Oregon Flock and Fiber, but I did throw a little handspun in there.


On the bottom there we have the handspun (BFL) and some Corriedale roving that we threw in one pot with some weld. I really like it, but I've decided that I'm not really into natural dyeing. It takes a long time, and frankly, I'm more into the vibrant colors.
The other two are superwash Merino that I overdyed. I do love overdying. You never know what you are going to get.

This is also some superwash merino leftover from a project that I spun the fiber undyed. (My mismatched stripes handspun socks.) It isn't a lot, maybe 2 oz, but it was fun, because I felt like it was OK if I messed it up, I left quite a bit of white on purpose. I am excited to spin it.

I didn't realize it until just now, but Mernio seemed to be the favorite fiber of the day. The blue and green is Merino. The green/ gold/ black is Targee.

And a llittle bit better view.

Do you notice something unusual about the colors. . . like there is NO RED anywhere in all of it. I decided I needed to expand the color range in my fiber closet. It was kind of hard to stay away from the red, but I am delighted with the colors!

Again, it feels good to be doin' my thing again. Thanks to the Queen for getting me there.

A New Leaf?

Could it be that I am actually becoming disciplined in my knitting? Heaven forbid!

I do have three more FO's to show you, though. (Weird, I know.)

The first two I actually cast on in the last few days, but don't think I'm falling off the wagon or anything. These are the hats that Bop and Megan won from the last Yarn of Yarnnation.



This is Megan's hat. She asked for brown or pink, she got both! The brown is Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran (wool/silk/cashmere) in color Venetian. The pink is an alpaca silk blend that I spun.

This is Bop's hat. The black is the (sadly discontinued) Jeager Chamonix. (angora/merino) and the turquoise is Brown Sheep Bulky (wool/mohair) in either Turquoise Depths or Tahiti Teal, not sure which.

The patterns are my own as far as any basic hat pattern is anyones.

Bop, if I can manage to remember it, you will get yours Sunday. Megan, yours will go in the mail either tomorrow or Friday.

The long lost shawl is also done. I had to try four of five different bind off techniques before I found one that was stretchy enought (ended up being p2tog, slip st back to left needle, repeat- and yes, it had to be a purl, not a knit, strange, no?)

Here she is unblocked.


And pinned out, blocking.

She is knit with Jojoland's Harmony. I'm pretty sure it's colorway HC02- but it's difficult to tell from the ball, and I have lost the ball band (I know, I know "bad knitter," what ever, I'm just happy the shawl isn't still lost.)

I will take better photos in the next week or so.


The special baby boy vest is also coming along. I am enjoying creating a new pattern again. My brain hasn't been capable of such a task in such a long time. I think I will make this a free pattern on Ravelry, but no holding your breath. No promises as to how long that could take.

All right then, I feel so normal, posting all about knitting. One might actually think this was a (gasp) knitting blog! Life, while still very busy, seems to be setteling into a new normal at last. It feels good.

A Whole Year

Finishing Spree

Are you all being kind in not hounding me to get my act together and tell you who the winner of the hand-spun yarn is, or have you just given up on me? I won't complain in detail about my life right now, but let me tell you, it's crazy.

Anywho- what you all really care about. . .

drum roll please. . .

the winner is. . .

Sonya!

Sonya, don't bother sending my your address, I think I can just throw the yarn in your direction and it will get there well enough. (For those of you who don't know, Sonya and her hubby Miles just bought a house about 1/2 a mile from Yarnnation. YEAH!)

Now onto the state of the (Yarn)nation.

I have been very fidgety with my knitting as of late. I have got out yarn, looked through books, wound yarn, knit swatches, but nothing was sticking. I finally figured out that I had so many WIP (works in progress for those non-knitters among you) that I was unsettled. I knew it was time for a finishing spree. I will do a proper WIP round-up here in the next week or so, but in the mean time, I just started pulling projects out of my basket and finishing them.

I now present, and unprecedented, THREE Finished Projects

1.

The Regia K. Fasset Socks. I am so happy with them that I didn't bother to take them off after I took the pictures and they are presently employed keeping my tootsies warm.


The gusset.


Eye of the Partridge heel.
The colorway is Landscape Earth

2.

A pair of longies that I am likely going to list in my Etsy shop, but may keep for my brave sister the Princess. She is considering cloth diapering her next baby (due in the spring! I am so excited!) The yarn is Cascade 220.

3.

And last, but never least, the never ending scarf has actually come to an end, nearly two years since it began.


For those of you who haven't been around that long, or who don't have the memory of an elephant, I died the main yarn. It is Cascade 220, I believe. Who can remember that long ago. The edging is Brown Sheep Superwash.


Also, this project has the unique distinction of having once been a finished project, then once again becoming a WIP, then a UFO, and now finally, a FO, once again. After I finished knitting it I just thought it needed something else, so I decided to crochet ruffle on one side of it. Well, we all know how much I like to crochet, and that is how the poor scarf, through no fault of her own, ended up in the UFO basket for so long. But now she is revived, and I love her!




And here is Little Sir, doing a band-up job of modeling it for you all. Yes, he thinks he is quite hysterical. Mama agrees!


Then, after three finished object, I didn't feel so scattered and I thought I might be safe to cast on for a small little project. It is a vest for a very special little baby that is on his way!

Wow! Fiber. . .

Thank you all for your kind comments about the latest Yarn of Yarnnation. I know it was kind of long, my imagination gets carried away some times. Remember to leave a comment on the last part to be eligible to have the happy fiber come live either in your stash closet or your coat closet (as a hat or fingerless gloves or something.)

Now, as far as newcomers to the stash, some of you might know that The Queen, The Princess, PBTB, and "W" just got back from Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. It wasn't the best trip, as The Princess' gall bladder decided to malfunction big time while we were there, but yarn and fiber were still procured. I was very restrained, though, the closet is getting a little crowded.


This is Sarah Anderson's Great Balls of Fiber- enough for a long sweater. Superwash Merino/Alpaca.


This is what the Princess picked out for me to spin for her. It's also the Merino/Alpaca. I am spinning it into a Navajo plied sock yarn for her.

I was a little dissappointed with Sarah Anderson's selection this year. Not that it wasn't all beautiful, there just wasn't very much of it. I asked her about it and she said that she just hadn't had the time and the weather hadn't cooperated. Ah well, I can't really complain, The Queen and I did a great deal of damage to both our wallets and her inventory!




If you want to see a WHOLE LOT of Socks that Rock, visit the Queen's blog in the next few days. I found her holding dozens of skeins of yarn with a wild, crazed look in her eyes. We had to do some deep breathing to bring her back to her senses. The smell of vinegar can do that, you know. Next time we'll remember the smelling salts.

I was wooed by this one "rare gem" skein. I didn't intend on buying any yarn, but how could I resist this? I mean, really!

And the reason I had no intention of buying yarn. Oh that would have been the previous day's trip to this enchanted little place.


Here you choose strands of any color and fiber your hearts desire and have it spun together onto a cone, ready for use!

If you are a knitter, crocheter, or weaver I suggest you visit as soon as possible. In the mean time, visit their website, where they sell pre-spun cones.


This is a wool/cotton blend that will be a sweater for Little Sir.


This is a wool/nylon blend in a sock weight.


Mohair/wool in lace weight.

Yes, there will be return visits!

Now before I sign off, I want to be sure that you all visit Princess P. to wish her a speedy recovery and also to read all about the BEST NEWS OF THE YEAR!

Last but not least, you can also visit the adoption blog to see pictures of the adorable cousins together.