Monday, May 28, 2007

Dried Frosting



The yarn finished drying and this is what it looks like. The upper left skein is superwash wool/nylon. The upper right skein is merino wool/silk. The lower rainbow colored skein is 100% merino. I was showing them to someone tonight and the blue from the silk blend started to come off a little bit on my fingers so I have put all 3 skeins into the washer in a water and vinegar bath to soak for a while. Hopefully, that will fully set the colors and then I'll just dry them again.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Summer Knitting

There is a contest for summer knitting goals which is being sponsored by Ali at Skeins Her Way.
http://www.skeinsherway.com/2007/05/pre-summer-contest.html is the link to her page about the contest. My knitting goals for this summer are:

1) Try sock knitting with Magic Loop or two circulars using a toe-up pattern. I will probably use some of my Wilton dyed yarn for this project.

2) Knit the Shapely Tee by Joan McGowan-Michael for myself. http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com/patterns/lpullovers/fbd.html I started this project Friday night using Lion Brand Microspun. I am using black at the bottom and turquoise on top.

3) Finish the three pairs of socks I started (Moda Dea Sassy Stripes, Jawoll Cotton, and Fostissima 6-ply)

Frosting



I've always liked the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". There is a line that is "Frost Yourself" referring to a proposed diamond marketing campaign aimed at women. However, I can't afford diamonds so how about Wilton Frosting colors and sock yarn?

The sock yarn is from Knitpicks http://knitpicks.com/dye+your+own+knitting+yarn_YL300110.html and is a gift for my birthday from my Dad. The yarns are all called "Bare" and a fingering weight:
1) 70% Merino Wool, 30% Silk
2)
75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon
3)
100% Merino Wool



I have learned a couple of things doing this project. One, when attempting to reskein yarn to be a longer length, don't, I repeat, don't forget to roll it into a ball first. Should you try to do this outside by winding from one crossbar of the clothesline to the other and end up with a tangled mess which takes an hour to straighten out, make sure the neighbors aren't out. My dad's neighbor was quite amused when she asked me, "What the heck are you doing?" When I finally got that first skein tied up and removed from the clothesline, I decided that the other skeins could be dyed just fine the way they came from Knitpicks. In the photo above, the clothesline skein is the one on the left. That skein is also featured in the first photo. Kind of a rainbow look.

The yarn didn't quite come out the way I had envisioned it. The colors are more landscape and sky colors than if I had used Jacquard dye. I used Wilton dye because it's cheap and I can use the containers and microwave after I use them. I will have to wait a couple of days while the skeins dry and then I will take another photo for you.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Socks a plenty

On Monday and Wednesday nights, I went out to knit with the groups I belong to. I worked on the purple socks out of Jawoll Cotton that I bought at Mission Rose Quiltery.

At home, I've been working on the 6 ply Socka Colori Socks. This view is from the front. I like the way it's knitting up.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Sock and Trips

I finished the Cascade Fixation socks on Tuesday night. They are here.

Last night, I went out with the Syracuse Meetup.com group to Panera. There were three of us, but it was a lot of fun. I think I reknit the same two inches of sport weight sock three times.

I came home from work sick today and am just working on sewing up spring sweaters tonight while watching tv.


I am looking forward to summer being around soon. I have blogged about Fingerlakes Fibers in Watkins Glen, NY. They have information about Fiber Tours up on their website http://www.fingerlakesfibers.com/tour.php