Eleven Stitches

Once More With Feeling

Good News #1: I got to start my sweater using my beet yarn.
Good News #2: I love the design elements so far.
Good News #3: My sweater is knitting up to exactly the same gauge as my swatch.

Bad News #1: I mis-measured my gauge to be 3.25 stitches per inch, when in actuality it is 4.25 stitches per inch.

Good News #4: At least I thought about this at about 6 inches in, which didn't take very long because I'm about 40 stitches short of what I really need to be knitting.

I'm getting stressed out about our (second, big) wedding.  Is it obvious?

PS.  The second mitt was corrected, and the pair awaits blocking.  At least that got finished without any other screwups!

I Did Everything Right

I started making a pair of fingerless gloves for my mom.  (Or "for me ma" as Mickey O'Neill might say.) The pattern along the top is adapted from a Japanese sweater pattern.  I'm very happy with how the first glove came out.

Yesterday, I cast off for the first glove, wove in the ends, and immediately cast on for the second one.  I was quite proud of myself for doing it right this time; there was no dallying around with other projects in between.

You might say that I did everything right with this pair of fingerless gloves.

Maybe a little bit too right. Sigh. What can I say that hasn't been said before? 

I'm off to drink some more wine, and to frog.

Hedgehog and Winners

Now that Valentine's Day is over, I can show you what I made last week.  David loves hedgehogs, and of course I had to make him one!

I wanted to use this pattern to make it, but alas it only comes in hard copy and I'm impatient.  So I made up a pattern of my own, and I like the results. 

I first knitted up the body (sans spikes) and then a little "pelt" to be sewn on top of it.

I was hoping that the mohair would be spiky enough on its own, but after sewing it down, I really felt it needed more spikes.

I basically alternated between making a knotted stitch and making a stitch with a big loop (that was later cut open).  I liked the end result a lot, and so did David!  I also made one of these hearts for him to hold. Cute!

David and I also selected winners for my blog contest over the weekend.  All of you are so inspiring!  From eating oatmeal, to playing the harp, to starring in a Shakespeare performance, to going to the gym more, to spinning, wow.  It's so uplifting to read all of the positives things you are doing. In the end, we narrowed the list down to three people, and then decided to draw for the random winner.  As luck would have it, one of those three people was also our random winner, so we decided to get an extra skein of yarn and have three winners.  Yay!  Congratulations to Amy, Mary Beth, and Heather.  We matched up skeins with Amy and Mary Beth based on their favorite colors (listed on their Ravelry profiles), and then picked up this skein for Heather.

Congrats, ladies!  I'll have your prize packages to you soon.

Dyeing with Beets: A Red, Hot, Love Story, Episode 3

Today's Episode: Although things have cooled between the girl and her yarn, there is sill hope for the future. After a period of cleansing, the yarn begins to reveal its True Colors.  To the girl's surprise, she doesn't find the red, hot romance she expected, but instead a warm, rose-colored companionship. It looks like this could be a relationship that can really last.

---

After squeezing out as much water as I could in the tub, I transferred the yarn over to the sink for a rinse. I arranged the spout so that the water ran down the side of the sink, and I smooshed the yarn into the puddle in the corner.  I did a couple of passes for each skein, until the water ran clear.

As you can see, most of the red washed out with the water.

.

When I was researching dyeing with beets, I discovered that they're not especially prized for dyeing fabrics.  According to Lion Brand's article (the only good one I found), the color completely washed out of cotton, and dyed wool a very warm tone. Regardless of the fact that the red doesn't really stay, I really liked the resulting color when I dyed a test swatch a few months ago. Besides, I really like beets, and I fell in love with the idea of dyeing with them!

I wrung out as much water as I could, and then I re-skeined all of the yarn.  It didn't look like it had felted at all, but re-skeining is an assurance that there's no problem (and also it's easier to "fix" felting problems when the yarn is wet). I then let it dry.

I think the end result is beautiful.  I love the little twinges of pink, but I'm OK if they don't stick around.

I had a lot of fun doing this, and making up these silly posts!  Thanks for playing along!  I'd like to try natural dyeing again... I've been saving onion skins, and that might be what I'll do next. Wouldn't it be fun to get this Green Mountain Green yarn at Rhinebeck every year, and have cozy sweaters in a (natural) rainbow of colors? 

Dyeing with Beets: A Red, Hot, Love Story, Episode 2

Today's Episode: The girl and yarn decide to make a go of it.  After some complicated rituals (baths, bondage), things get Red, Hot, and Heavy. Sadly, this installment ends with one of them getting dumped.

---

To start this whole process, I had to gather some ingredients.  Four bunches of beets, and a ginormous pot. The pot was a difficulty for quite a while, but I finally found what I needed at a flea market for $10.

I heated water in a normal sized pot, and I scrubbed the beets while I was waiting.  Beets, having been grown in the ground, are seriously dirty, and I recommend a scrub brush for cleaning.  Once they were clean, I plopped them in the water.

While they were cooking, I tied my skeins of yarn.  They were only secured in one place, so I added three more ties (using leftover yarn from my Cobblestone) to each.  This helped prevent tangles later on.

I also whipped up this recipe:

1 tbsp Champagne Vinegar
1.5 tsp Basalmic Vinegar
1 tbsp Walnut Oil
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Lemon Pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp, probably)
Dried Parsley flakes to taste

Mix all ingredients.

When the beets were soft (about 30 minutes), I fished them out of the water and peeled them. When the beets are ready, the skin slides right off.  I kept out 3 beets for myself, chopped them up, and had them with the above dressing.  Delicious!  The rest of the beets I chopped up, and returned to the water for another 30 minutes.

While I was waiting, I filled up the big pot with warmish water.  I added some vinegar, and then the skeins of yarn.

I turned off the heat on the beets, and strained out as many as I could with a slotted spoon.  I added some cold water to the pot to cool it down, and then waited impatiently for the beet water to reach the same temperature as the yarn water.  I scooped some out with a plastic container, and then poured it through a colander into the yarn pot.

Having transferred all the beet water over, I heated the yarn pot on low.  I checked on it every 10 minutes or so, and stirred gently with my hand.  The yarn isn't superwash, so I wanted all of my movements to be gentle, and to not let the yarn sit for too long in any hot spots.

After about an hour, I unceremoniously dumped all of the yarn in the bathtub.

Tune in next time (the last episode, I promise) for cleansing, a surprising twist, and of course, a happy ending.

Dyeing with Beets: A Red, Hot, Love Story, Episode 1

Today's Episode: Girl meets yarn.  Girl falls for yarn.  Girl embarrasses herself, but it seems that things might still work out between them.

---

When I went to Rhinebeck in 2006, I was on a mission.  I wanted to find yarn that I could dye with Kool-Aid. I remember reading about it on other people's blogs, and it looked really fun.  After researching all of the natural-colored yarns I could find (for softness and price), I ended up with some of Green Mountain Spinnery's Green Mountain Green. Perfect.

When I was purchasing the yarn, I asked the sales lady if I could use Kool-Aid to dye this yarn. And she winced.  Later, when I was remembering what happened, I was sure that I must have projected that wince.  Kool-Aid seems like such a low-brow way to dye yarn, and I was was feeling a little insecure.

In the summer of 2007, I started entering my yarn into Ravelry, and I happened to read the tag on my Green Mountain Green yarn.

Fibers for this yarn are GREENSPUN using vegetable based soaps and oils in the processing and then washed gently to preserve the natural sheen and resilience. To retain the chemical free nature of this yarn wash gently in lukewarm water using vegetable oil based soap.

Wow, I had a laugh at that.  I wanted to take this yarn that was lovingly processed chemical free, and dye it with Kool-Aid. I still giggle a little bit when I think about it.  I decided that I would find another way to change the color, and after eating some wonderful locally grown beets this summer, I had my solution.

Incidentally, I bought more of this yarn at Rhinebeck 2007 (for my Cobblestone pullover) and the sales lady remembered me.  She admitted that she did, in fact, wince.   We had a laugh, and I told her about my beets plan, and everything was good.

The next step was gathering the the supplies (and the courage) to dye the yarn.  I had been putting it off for months, but finally on a whim and a Wednesday night, I got started.

So Glad I Started

Today is my first blogiversary!  I had been thinking about starting a blog for about six months before I actually did it.  I was worried about the time it would take. I was worried about taking good pictures. I think I was a little bit worried nobody would read a blog if I started one.  But finally at the urging of David and a knitting friend, I took the plunge.

I'm so glad I did.

First of all, I'm glad because I got to join the community.  I think that a large reason knitting is so popular with the "younger" group of knitters is the huge online community.  We inspire, encourage, and help each other. So. Cool.

I'm also glad that I've met so many other knitters.  I feel like I know so many of you (and I talk about various friends without mentioning that I only know them online) in so many places, and I've even made good "in real life" friends because of this blog.

I think I've become better at finishing projects because there is a place to show them off to people who understand the amount of work put into them.

Finally, I'm so glad for all of you!  Your blogs, your comments, your input have made blogging a truly enjoyable experience. Thank you so much!

Let's have a contest!  Leave a comment telling me something YOU are glad you started recently, or something that you would really like to start doing.

David and I will pick one winner (based on answers), and the other winner will be drawn randomly from all answers given.  (This was David's idea-- he wants to get in on the fun!)  Leave your comments here by midnight EST on Saturday, February 16th.

Here's the yarn you could win!

Sundara Sock Yarn in Cobalt over Mediterranean


Sunshine Yarns Soft Sock Yarn in Sedona

PS.  Speaking of blogiversaries, go visit Yarny Old Kim today!  We're blog twins.

Gifts from Grandma

I have the cleverest of Grandmas.  She gave me just what I wanted for Christmas.  Yarn, of course!

There's a special place in my heart for Tess Supersock and Baby yarn.  It's so soft and strong.  The colors are so pretty.  I've made one pair of socks and one single sock with Tess yarn, and I love it.  Grandma, quite thoughtfully I must say, got me a skein when Megan was destashing recently.  Such a great gift.

But wait, there's more.  I've been very intrigued recently with BFL sock yarn.  Apparently, BFL is stronger than merino yarn, but it's still soft and a little bit shiny.  It seems that there isn't a vast number of people dyeing BFL yarn yet, but I know of at least one who is doing an excellent job of it.  Go visit Mama Blue's etsy shop right now.  You won't be disappointed.  How do I know?  Because my Grandma bought me half of a skein of her yarn.

Wait, half a skein? you might ask.  Well, yes.  Grandma's clever, thoughtful gifts only stretch so far.  We have to keep things fair for the other grandkids.  I was so pleased with this beautiful, soft, shiny yarn that I was happy to get the other half on my own.

Even if it means running laps.  400 yds x 1/2 x 4 = 800 yards.  Two laps.  I think it's worth it.  Don't you?

Dahlia, I Won't Be Soothed. I. Won't. Be. Soothed.

It took me a really long time to start knitting my second Dahlia sock. I knit the majority of the first sock on a train ride home from Boston, just after getting some bad news.  Whenever I looked at that sock, I could remember the worry and sadness I felt while I was knitting it. 

I decided that for the second sock, I would choose a happy time to start knitting it so I could counteract the bad effects of the first one.  I cast on on January 1, the day after our wedding.  Things were going swimmingly, and I got into a good rhythm on the first leg of my plane ride home.  Unfortunately, that plane was late and I missed the connecting flight by minutes (I saw the plane leaving the gate) and I had to spend the night in Phoenix.  I stopped knitting that sock for awhile.

Slowly I started making progress again on the sock, and I finally finished it.  There are sad memories in the sock, but there are also a lot of happy ones.  And a fair amount of rueful acknowledgment of irony, too.

Pattern: Dahlia by Sundara Murphy (this was a Petals Collection pattern)
Yarn: Sundara Sock in Dahlia
Needles: US 1
Modifications: The chart calls for all of the knit stitches in the pattern to be twisted.  I did this, with exception of when I came upon the yarnover of the previous row.  I knit those stitches untwisted. This let the lace pattern be a more open.

When I started this sock, I didn't realize that a larger US1 existed than what I had.  So I started on the pattern with my 2.25mm needles.  Fortunately, the twisted ribbing is quite stretchy, so the only place that the smaller needle was not great was in the instep.  On the second sock, I made the heel flap a little longer and it fits a little better.

This was my first time taking pictures in my new light box.  It was fun to use!  It turns out that Philana was also quite interested in it, and she was inside it within seconds. I think she feels quite at home in there.

By the way, this Dahlia sock is the tenth sock I've finished from my original eleven singles.  I'm finishing them up!

Leftovers

Generally, leftovers are a nice thing.  An easy meal when we're tired and don't feel like cooking. It turns out that left over sock yarn is also a very nice thing.

Pattern: Basic stockinette sock, switching colors every eleven rows when there was enough yarn.
Yarn: Collinette Jitterbug, Koigu, Yarn Nerd 900 MHz, Dale Baby Ull, Sundara Sock, Socks that Rock Lightweight and Silkie, Tess Supersock, Brooks Farm Acero, All Things Heather, Apple Laine Apple Pie, and Claudia's Handpainted.
Needles: US Size 1

I chose size 1 Needles because I knew that all of these yarns would make a nice fabric at this size.  My gauge didn't significantly differ between yarns.  All of the yarns are wool, but some are mixed with silk, viscose or nylon.

I chose the colors as I went along, and I think they worked out nicely.  The colors I like tend to go together, so I didn't have a difficult time of it. I tried to minimize the muticolored yarns I used, as I thought the solids were more striking.

The only problem with these socks?  All the ends to weave in. Once I got started, though, it was fairly quick work. (Click on the picture below to see descriptions of each yarn I used.)

It just so happened that I got a new pair of shoes the day after I finished these socks.  I think they're a great match!