Yarn and Fiber and Dyes

Yes, they do still exist here in Yarnnation!

This was over dyed from yarn that was left over from yarn I dyed a couple of years ago that my Mom knit into a Wonderfy Wallaby for Little Sir.

 

 Now the Lion Baby wear that Wonderful Wallaby, but I thought that he should have his own as well.  What do you say, Grandma?  You up for knitting another one?  Actually I think i may take this one, as I am needing some simple, just follow the pattern and don't think, type of knitting.

Some Superwash Merino that I though I'd throw in while I was at it.  I love how it turned out.  I don't really have a project in mind for it.

This is kind of a strange one.  I've never dyed anything black before, but it was a very dark purple color that I didn't care for.  I was hoping for a "raven" like look, but you can hardly see the purple at all.  It really just looks black.  Oh well, it will be useful for a hat or something.

And last, this was a big bundle of Cooriadale that I half submerged in order to exhaust the dye.  You can see there was still a lot of dye left in the pat.  I love spinning fibers that have a lot of white in them along side a dark color.  I can't wait to see how it spins up. 

And there you go.  Proof that, despite a creative recession, fiber is still of great importance in our house.  (Just ask the poor guys/gals that end up having to move my yarn stash. - Although, probably better that than all of our books.)

I HAVE been knitting

I just haven't been blogging about it.

I want to revive my knitting blog. Adoption has occupied my free time for a year now. I am ready to have it move to the back burner for a while. Knitting is so much less emotional. :)

So, here is what I have been knitting on (which is adoption related- it will be a gift for the birth mother of our son.)



I'm kind of loving it.



It's a super simple pattern. I made it up, but I was sure that someone else must have all ready "published" it somewhere. It's so easy and so pretty.

Well, I went through 20 pages on Ravelry and couldn't find it, so I guess I will have to write it up when I am finished.

In the mean time, let me tell you about the yarn. . . OH THE YARN!

It is Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fibers. I think it may be the perfect yarn. It is the softest Merino I have ever felt. It comes in a very generous hank.



(One hank has stretched into 47 inches (abt 120cm) of scarf!)

And the Colors, oh, these photos do not do this subtle heather justice. It has just tiny hints or royal blue mixed with with that amazing turquoise.

It's been a while since I enjoyed a project this much. I don't know if it is the yarn, or the pattern, or the love I feel for the woman I am knitting it for. I imagine it is a combination of all of those things.

I am dubbing it Stork.

Quick Project Sock Update

Pair 4 of 20 are coming along. I've been under a bit (HA!) of stress as of late so I needed something easy to knit. These did the trick with just a 2x2 cable on either side of each sock, however, I am getting bored with them now. Good thing I am starting the home stretch. For some reason the foot always seems to knit faster than the ankle for me.



I've also added a bit to my sock yarn collection. I know the idea was to knit all the sock yarn in my stash, but I'm deciding that it still OK to add to the stash because the point of Project Sock is not to get rid of my stash, but to increase my sock wardrobe. Besides, everyone knows that when beautiful sock yarn in on sale it doesn't count, right!



This is "Dahlia" from the very talented Yarn Pirate.

A little fiber update while I procrastinate

I should be doing homework. I only have one problem left (that one problem will probably take 20-30 min. - but that's beside the point.) It's just one little problem. :)

Anyway, while I'm procrastinating I thought I'd show you a little of my current stress reduction project. Oh, how I love spinning when I need to relax.

Remember this? (Superwash Merino dyed while my mom was here)



It is now THIS! 2 ply sock weight and very very yummy!



OK, now I will go do my homework (or maybe just a short little nap first. . . ;c)

Royal Dying Day

Last Thursday was dedicated to mass amounts of fiber and dye, two babies, my mom, Sarah and I. It was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-C (and physically taxing- there was a lot of moving heavy water filled pots and running up and down stairs.)


Here is an overview of what we did.

A little something for the Duke.

Superwash Merino for socks.

BFL is our BFF



The Queen picked up some Socks that Rock mill ends a Madrona and dyed them, they turned out amazing!

This was the very ugly Hand Maiden sock yarn that I won in a blog contest. Much better now.

The Queen's other STR. Mmmmmmm.

Enough Patons Merino (originally natural) for a February Lady. (Ravelry link)

And the Queen wanted something bright and fun to knit a Wonderful Wallaby for Little Sir, so we whipped a little something up.

A sweater I bought at a second hand store and frogged. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I like it.

I also over-dyed the awful pink sock yarn and the panel of sock yarn. I didn't get good photos of them, but you can see them in the top photo.


Here are the boys. Have you ever seen anything so sweet?

Blazing Neeldes

While I was in Utah my Mom and Sister were excited to introduce me to their new LYS, and after a few minutes in the shop, it was pretty clear why.



Blazing Needles is a delightful, beautifully arranged and decorated shop. It is in a lovely restored old house, complete with fireplaces (yes, two of them.) They have a felting closet, a welcoming space for knitters to enjoy themselves, and although it was covered with snow at the time, a "knitting garden" in their backyard.



Their stock, at first, seem limited to me, but I soon realized that it was well thought out and maintained. Instead of carrying a few colors of many different yarns, they stock most if not all of the colors in each of the lines they showcase in the shop. The yarns they have chosen to carry represent both fine yarns and work horse yarns. They include Cascade, Fleece Artist, ShiBui, O Wool and Koigu among others.



They have beautiful models knit up and on display and a lovely coffee and tea table set out to make you feel at home.

So, you are asking, what did I buy. . . Oh, well, let me tell you.

It has been sometime now that I have been inspired by any of the yarns typically seen in LYSs. So when I happened across Shepherd's Wool at Blazing Needles, I was giddy with that new yarn love euphoria!



People, this is melt your heart away soft, bouncy, dreamy, Merino wool. It's worsted weight, 250 yards, lots of beautiful colors and Blazing Needles is one of the few stores that carries it ($9.75 per skein- for those who are interested.)

And now that I have purchased two sweaters worth of this amazing wool, I thought I would share my new found delight with all of you.
Why yes, I do know their contact info!

1365 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 487-5648
info - at - blazing-needles.com

But wait, don't go away quite yet. I have another treasure from Blazing Needles to share.

The Duke and I collect Raku pottery. (If you are interested, read about the western technique, which all of our pieces are, although we would love to own a Japanese piece someday.) As we were chatting with the owner, Claudia, and she told us about her son's "yarn bowls" that he sells in the shop. She directed me toward the last one that was left, and upon picking it up I exclaimed with glee, "It's Horsehair Raku!" The Duke and I have long admired Horsehair Raku (yes, it uses real hores hair) but have never had the opportunity to aquire a piece. It is an unheard of experience that the Duke is as excited about a yarn store purchase as I am, but it happened with this lovely purchase.
Roman, the artist (and Claudia's son) is a student at Westminster College and sells these yarn bowls (so called because of the notch he has cut into them to guide the yarn out of the bowl) at Blazing Needles, as if I didn't love them enough all ready!!!



Isn't it stunning?

Thanks Mom and Princess P for taking me to such a delightful yarn store. I expect there will be many more fun excursions to my new favorite Utah yarn shop.

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.

Don't Laugh

So there are probably several mothers out there who will laugh at this statement, but I will make it none-the-less.

Lace knitting and parenting are not natural bedfellows.

This is not the first time I have knit this lace stitch. It is the first time since Little Sir arrived in Yarnnation. Little did I know the two are not terribly compatible.

"What!" you say in shock and disbelief, "lace is not easily knit with constant interruption and lack of sleep?"

Despite the slow progress and the multiple rip backs, and the dozens of picked up yarn overs, it is coming along beautifully.



The yarn is Jojoland Harmony purchased at Little Knits (the link will take you there.) I have lost the ball band, but despite the widely varied color differences between the photos and my yarn, I believe it is color HC03. I just love the colors and the color changes keep me interested.



The pattern is from Evelyn Clark's Knitted Lace Triangles.

Yes, There is Still Yarn in Yarnnation

I didn't cast on for another sock. . .

I cast on for this instead!



I'm almost done with him and I think he's hysterical. I hope Little Sir likes him.

Also, the seven year anniversary is traditionally celebrated with wool. This is a fact that I reminded the Duke of more than a few times.

He didn't disappoint.





The are both from Hazel Knits- (Thanks Wendee!)

Baby vs. Fiber

In this corner we have the Ultra Feather Weight Champion Time Snatcher: Little Sir.

In this corner we have the Ultra Fiber Weight Champion Time Snatcher: Knitting and Spinning.

I will give you .37 seconds to determine who is going to win the title of All Time Ultimate Time Snatcher!



Here is a sweater that I started sometime during my pregnancy.
The bottom is my hand spun, the top is Cascade 220.

When these photos were taken I had run out of yarn with about two inches of the sweater to go (it was knit bottom-up so two inches of small neck rounds.)



It took me about 3 days to make it to the yarn store to get the yarn needed to finish the sweater.
It took me another 4 days to get it wound into a cake.
It took me about 20 minutes to finish the silly thing.



I will have FO pics, oh you know, as soon as I can find time to put the sweater on, try to get the Duke to take more than 2 photos for me to choose from, when it's light outside (it was still light at 5:00 pm today- YAHOO!) and manage to do it all without getting spit-up on.

So what I'm telling you here is, don't hold your breath.


I did get a tiny bit of spinning done as well. This lovely BFL that Sarah brought me while I was frantically searching for ways to keep my sanity that didn't involve my pregnancy disabled hands, has been in single form on bobbins for many a moon now. It was time to ply some of it. It's lovely. I just love the color.



I went to Spinning Night on Friday as well, and got a very small amount of spinning done, but it did feel good to have my right foot being used in yarn production as opposed to sleep production (I often use the same treadle motion on Little Sir's bouncy chair to lull him to sleep.)



Superwash Merino singles, destined to become a two ply sock weight.

And there you go, a full fledged fiber post.

Wait until you see what craziness I am planning next. . .