Category: knitting

  • the knitting

    Didja see johanna’s comment to my last post?

    “I don’t know Laura, your last minute attempt to throw in some knitting doesn’t convince me. You’ve gone to the other side. You are a spinner.”

    Hey man, it ain’t all spinning up in here. Evidence:

    Bamboo Chickami
    Pattern: Chickami by Chicknits
    Yarn: Southwest Trading Company Bamboo, “Chocolate”, less than 2 skeins!
    Needles: Denise US 5 and 6
    Started: June 27, 2005
    Finished: July 18, 2005

    Notes:
    I only had 2 skeins, so I made a size smaller than I’d usually do (34″ instead of 36″). It turned out well, if pretty darn fitted. I even had yarn left over…

    …but not enough for me to have done the larger size. Oh, and I did the wide strap version. Bra strap issues, but I don’t care all that much. The yarn is weird; feels really soft on the ball but more scratchy knit up. I think wash and wear will help, and it’s really starting to grow on me, actually.

    Oh, and I even started another project.

    I’m calling it “Sapphire”. A tank of my own design out of Pingouin Sillages, which I assume is discontinued. It’s 50% cotton, 45% viscose, and 5% silk. Yummy colour. In an unprecedented move, I have since bought and switched to an Addi Turbo needle for this project – the bamboo was dragging. Why don’t I like Addis? Well, I find the tips too dull, they’re too slippery (so I don’t have control, and I knit looser as well), and I don’t like the noise. Oh, and they’re expensive. But, we’ll see. Maybe this will convert me or something. (Don’t worry Denise, I’ll always love you.)

    And I finally bought buttons for Spencer.

    See? Not a spinning thing in the bunch. But how about some dyeing?

    “nectarine”, a nice soft wool blend.

    Crazy bright merino that I bought (I didn’t dye it) from my trusty eBay seller.

    Tomorrow: Stash addition.

  • the post that grew

    I thought I didn’t have much to blog about, but then I started taking pictures!

    I started a pair of Broadripples, using the 72-stitch version. I’m using my Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Bittersweet and they are SO beautiful. I was worried it was going to be too big, so I did the socks on 2.0 mm needles – it just fits. I only started on Saturday but the leg went soooo quickly. The foot, not so much, but I still love it.

    I started spinning up that rust roving, and this is what I came up with – it looks ok in the picture, and in real life as well, but that’s because I was at the section that was dyed a nice red. The majority of the yarn is orange, which I’m not huge on. Still waiting to pass judgement, though.

    I also wound off the white corriedale singles I’ve been working on, and it’s a pretty honkin’ skein of 275 yards! I’m going to dye this up, sometime.

    A finished colourway in merino! This stuff is soooooo soft, and I didn’t eff up the colour! It came out well and I’m happy. I’ve got another merino lot drying, and two soaking to be dyed today. I think one of them shall be a try at red, with some black…should be interesting.

    Also, this pile just needs to be blocked, and there’ll be a finished object!

    Keep cool!

  • dyeing? also addictive

    So I finally got everything to set myself up for dyeing, and went for it!

    Here’s my set-up. On the left in the white bin are my jars of stock solution, and on the right is my corriedale which had been soaking overnight – 2 4 oz sections.

    The dye in plastic squeeze bottles (which were surprisingly difficult to find, for some reason). For this experiment I left them all as 1% solutions.

    I followed the directions at the Dye Pot, but I added vinegar to each layer rather than pouring it over the top. I used red, yellow and blue Cushings dyes, and I only did 4 oz because I didn’t want to screw up! Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion…all I can say is, the rest of my fibre better show up soon, because I am ADDICTED.

    In the meanwhile, I’ve been working on finishing up Spencer! So close!

    I’ve finished the bottom ribbing now, and am working on the button bands.

    Here’s hoping all are safe and sound.