Kaylee Socks Complete

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Pattern:

Kaylee by Monkey Toes

Unfortunately, no longer available online but hopeful her husband will upload it to Ravelry sometime soon.

Made for:

Me - Size 9

Yarn:

Done Roving Frolicking Feet Superwash Wool Yarn in Fancy Footwork colorway

1 skeins = 480.0 yards (438.9m)

Purchased at Seaport Yarn in NYC

Needles:

US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony

2 socks on 2 circs

Started for the May Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL.

I do find it weird that the pattern has no gauge. But luckily, they are toe-up. I was able to tweak them as I went which helped.

I had to add 6 sts to each side to get them to fit. They would have been too small if I just follow the pattern. For the additional side stitches I did p2 k2 p2 on rows 1, 2, 4 & 5 of the repeat. And I did p1 k1 p2 k1 p1 on rows 3 & 6. I found that worked pretty well.

The repeat isn't as complex as I feared. Though I had trouble understanding row 5 of the pattern. Shansays on ravelry explained it in a way that made more sense.

Basically, for the middle stitches of row 5 it goes:

* Cast on 4 using backward loop cast on

* Pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* YO

* Again pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* Cast on 4 more stitches using backward loop cast on

I should have taken some pictures as it would make it easier to understand what is happening.

The toe is Judy's Magic Cast On. I really don't know if I will ever do another toe up toe! I love it.

The heel is a short row toe up heel. I am not really thrilled with it. There are holes along the edges. I won't be doing that again.

Not sure why I kept stalling with these. I finished them by the end of June so they will be eligible for the May KAL. But they were kinda slow going. I think I just haven't felt as driven to do socks. And the pattern was not mindless enough to be easy tv or car knitting.

I think the yarn is too busy for the pattern. It doesn't show it well. But I will still wear them as I like it.

Okay... Maybe I Am Crazy...

I decided to sign up for the Tour de Fleece.

Basically, the point is to spin every day of the Tour de France. That means July 5th though the 27th. There are two days of rest just like the real one.

The nice thing is that there isn't set requirements. It isn't do X numbers of hours or yards or ounces. It is about challenging yourself.

I did write the group moderator on the Ravelry group to ask if missing days was okay. I will probably be in the Adirondacks when it begins. I can't commit to do anything while I am up there. I will try to make an effort to do something (bring my spindle and some fiber). But I won't commit to it by any means. The point of being up there is to relax and do whatever I want. I refuse to commit to schedules or anything when I am there.

So I signed up! *shake head* Ah well. There isn't any sort of elimination or such like Sock Wars. So it is just focusing on spinning. I probably would be anyhow, right? *chuckle*

I found another one earlier in the day. It is a smaller group that is devoted to stash busting. Given I do not have a fiber stash yet, that didn't make sense to me. But this one is the larger one with a Ravelry presence.

Diagonal Scarf with Handspun Yarn

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Pattern:

Go Diagonal Scarf by Sophia Kessinger

http://yarnovermanhattan-free-patterns.blogspot.com/

Yarn:

Finn Handspun & Handyed

Around 55.0 yards

Colorway - Tropical Punch & Grape Kool Aid

Fiber was given to me with my wheel

Needles:

Knitpicks Options US 13 / 9.0 mm

This is my first batch of handspun where I plied two singles together. I wanted something that would feature the texture without overwhelming the yarn. This project was suggested on the Ravelry knitting with handspun group as being good with thick & thin yarns. It seems to be working very well.

It is super simple to knit and is going very quickly. My only fear is that I will not have enough yarn to make a scarf and end up with another neck warmer! *laugh* That is all I could make with the first handspun I made given there was no length to it. I am hoping this will be longer, but I am honestly not sure if it will be.

I ended up going with 19 sts wide as I like scarves to have some thickness. I really hope I have enough to get some length. Though I may not.

I am still not sure about the colors. They were dyed with Kool-Aid. I may overdye it with some more Kool-Aid.

Handpainted Yarns

I dyed this yarn I bought as blank skeins from Dharmafey. It is a Superwash/Bamboo/Nylon blend.

I did two batches. Both were handpainted with Dharma fiber reactive dyes with vinegar as the agent mixed with the chemical water. I let it sit around 20 hours then steam set them.

Black Orchid

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I wanted something dark and rich. I love the Raven colorways from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. But after their Atomic 6 colorway fading so badly that it isn't even the same colors, I am unwilling to buy more of their yarn. So I figured why not dye a colorway similar but yet my own.

There are four dyes - black as well as deep purple, burgundy & fire red all mixed with varying amounts of black.

I really like the way this colorway came out. I think it will look wonderful in socks.

The name is inspired by the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean.

Chocolates

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This batch was dyed for my friend Meredith. She said she really just wanted brown & black. So that is what I did. Pretty simple. It is two different concentrations of chocolate brown & black (same black as the Black Orchid).

I think it came out well and hope she will like it.

Because of the Superwash/Bamboo/Nylon blend, there is a shimmer to the yarn. It looks wonderful. I need to buy more of this yarn. It also super soft.

I made my Baudelaire socks out of this base yarn dyed by Dharmafey. I really love them. They feel great and are super comfy. They are wearing pretty well.

Spinning Romney

I got 8+ ounces of Romney fiber at the Scottish Highland Games in Delaware. I picked it up before I had a spinning wheel. I got it because Romney is very sticky. I was told Romney is good for spinning as a beginner.

The roving was very sticky. I am guessing it wasn't heavily washed. I mean, it was dyed so it has to have been washed some, right? But it still felt sorta gummy. Even after soaking the yarn with Eucalan while setting the twist, it is still a bit tacky. But not as bad as it was before soaking it, but I can still feel some tackiness.

The bulk of the yarn was spun on my Babe double treadle production wheel. It really is such a wonderful wheel. I am loving it more and more as I use it.

Here are some pics of the yarn:

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Here is a pick of the yarn I created using the a single I had spun with my a drop spindle I got from ebay.

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It is overtwisted and very irregular. I really suspect that if I use this at all, it will be as trim or edging. It is still twisting some even after I soaked it. But hey, it just tells me how far I have come, right?

The yarn is still very much a bulky yarn for most of it. There are some points when I was able to draft it much thinner (like the smaller ball). And that really does make a difference in the size. But overall I am getting about 6-7 wpi. So it is still a bulky yarn. However, I feel like I am making progress. And the more I spin, the better it is getting.

I am really glad I picked this up. I think it has taught me a good deal. And it was something like $12 for the 8+ oz. So it was ideal for learning.

I did a 2 strand ply again. I got some elastic so I was able to use my DIY lazy kate as tensioned. It worked pretty well. Though I want to get a slightly thinner elastic as I think that might work better. I also think some clips would help. There are pegs on the bottom of the Babe that are supposed to work as a lazy kate. But honestly, I do not see how they spin very well from there. So I am not using them. I am using a cardboard box, 2 knitting needles and point protectors. It works pretty well.

It is similar to this one:

http://craftycanines.typepad.com/stuck_on_socks/2005/03/diy_tensioned_l.html

The difference is that I am using a wooden box instead of a plastic bin.

Though this one has my Babe bobbins instead of the wooden ones:

http://purly-qs.blogspot.com/2007/10/diy-tensioned-lazy-kate.html

There is this one as well:

http://loomythoughts.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html

I am figuring I want to get some similar clips and then the cardboard to hold it in place. I think that will help with the tensioning.

I think I got about 90 yards of yarn (not counting the super twisted stuff from the spindle with is probably another 5 yards or so). That is pretty good I think.

Of course now comes the great debate on what to do with it. I fear I am going to have a dozen scarves by the end of this process! *laugh* Because it is so irregular, that seems to be what I keep ended up with. I can't really see much else other than maybe mittens or something. But I don't wear mittens. I only wear leather gloves. And it is sorta odd stuff. So I don't think anyone but me would wear mittens made with this stuff! *laugh*

I spun 2 oz. of Ashland Bay 70% Merino wool & 30% Silk roving into a single. It is in pewter which is greys & some other colors added into it. I got it at The Yarn Tree. I want to go back and get some more. It feels lovely and spins very well. Of course Paul likes the color. There is a surprise. *laugh*

I also dyed some sock yarn on Saturday. It is some superwash/bamboo/nylon yarn I picked up from Dharmafey of Cosmic Fibers. I dyed one batch for my friend Meredith who I promised socks. The other is for me. I will have to take pics and share them. I like the way both came out.

So it was a fiberlicious weekend for me. *chuckle*

Scarf for Paul

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Cast On:

May 24, 2008

Completed:

June 20, 2008

Yarn:

Handspun Kid Shetland from Unique Designs by Kathy

http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/

1 skeins = 160.0 yards (146.3m)

&

Bernat Cashmere Natural Blends in Colorway 16040/Grey

4 skeins = 412.0 yards (376.7m)

Needles:

US 4 / 3.5 mm for the handspun

US 8 / 5.0 mm for Bernat

I wanted a super simple project to knit at a Memorial Day weekend BBQ.

I really wanted something that would feature the yarn I bought at Unique Designs by Kathy. But I knew it wasn’t enough to make a scarf for my husband. And he liked the yarn.

So I decided to make a scarf for him by adding another yarn.

I figured the handspun would really be best featured by something simple. I decided to just go with garter stitch. Super simple for knitting at the bbq.

I cast on 80 stitches on the size 4 needles. However, after a couple rows it was turning out 12" wide. My husband’s ideal scarf width it 8-9". So I ripped it out and cast on 60. That gave me around 9" which was ideal.

When I added the Bernat Cashmere Blend, I knit one, then knit 2 together. This way I decreased to 40 stitch to get it around the same width. It isn’t perfect but I think I can block it and they should look pretty even.

I did a basketweave stitch pattern for the body of the scarf. I handed Paul my first scarf which is a sampler scarf and told him to pick the pattern he liked. I find the basketweave is very simple. I did k4, p4 for 5 rows & then p4, k4 for 5. That way it seems to come out roughly square.

It turned out to be a bit over 70" which is the ideal length for Paul. It is long enough to wrap around twice. It is also long enough so he can fold it in half and loop it though itself which is also how he likes to wear it. He seems very happy with it.

Definitely a pleasure to knit and very simple.

First Time I Plyed Two Spun Singles Together

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This is the first yarn where I have spun two singles and plied them together. The others yarns I had done were so irregular and thick in spots that I plied them with thread as not to add more bulk to them.

It is 4 oz. of Finn that the woman who sold me the Babe wheel gave me. It spun really nicely. I think it had a nice long staple which meant I could draft it out pretty well.

While I am still not super consistent about the thickness, I am improving. There are some thicker & thinner bits in the yarn. But overall, it is much better in consistency. I am still learning a lot but it is getting better the more I am spinning.

I really do love the wheel. I was having some issues with it, but I think that was me getting used to the wheel. Most of them have been resolved by my being attentive to how I sit, where I put my feet on the treadles & my darling hubby tightening up some screws on the wheel. So I think things are good!

I also did my first batch of dyeing with Kool-Aid. It was pretty easy and the color is okay. I think I would have liked more richness to the color. But it did work well. I really liked that I could do it in the microwave because it was all edible products. So I didn't have to stress about it being toxic.

The purple is created with grape Kool-Aid. It is sorta dusty purple. The red is tropical punch. I had wanted black cherry as it is darker. But the store didn't have any. The colors are pretty decent. I also added some red & blue food coloring to some of the sections. Though honestly, you can't see a difference between the sections with the food coloring and the ones without. *shrugs*

I had planned to just lay out the yarn in a large container and do it that way. But when I poured the dye onto the yarn, I found that there was no way with that method that the colors would remain in place. So I took the cups I mixed the different dyes in and just kept the yarn in each of the cups.

I used the 2 minutes in the microwave, two minutes rest. I would spoon the color over the parts that were sticking up over the edges of the cups. It worked pretty well.

Overall I am happy with the results. I might decide to overdye the color. But it is just as likely I will leave it as it is.

I definitely think I should invest in some acid dyes. What I liked about this dyeing process is that you are supposed to heat it until the water becomes clear. So that is a lot less rinsing. And after handpainting with the fiber reactive dyes and the rinsing that takes all day, not spending hours rinsing is very appealing. *chuckle* Also, for creating painted rovings, the acid dyes are a better way to go. I will have to check into them.

The yarn is only around 55 yards though. Ah well. Maybe I will create a thin decorative scarf. I am not sure. Either way I am definitely having fun with spinning. Now that I have gotten the hang of it, it is getting really calming to do it.

Definitely Not Morpheus...

The wheel did *not* like the name.

It was not at all happy last night. A nut came off the piece that attaches the treadles to the wheel! And the leather strap that is the brake came out of the velcro that holds it in place! *shakes head*

Paul fixed the treadle issue. The nuts had slipped loose and wasn't treadling correctly. But my darling hubby fixed it.

The brake was an easy repair as well. It is just velcro folded over a leather strap. The velcro was stapled at the sides to hold it closed. So I opened it, made a knot at the end of the leather, reglued it and then staple the sides again. Not a biggie.

It is really making me wonder if I shouldn't return this one and get a brand new one. The woman I bought it from made that offer. But I really am reluctant. It would be more money & I would be without the wheel for as long as it would take to get the new one. I do like this one. But I keep juggling the choices in my head.

Paul and I are going down to his folks this weekend. The woman I bought it from is on the way. So it makes me think I should decide before the weekend. I am not sure honestly. It does seem like the wheel may have taken some abuse while she was teaching with it. But heaven knows it could just be me getting used to it. I am just not sure. Thus the debate.

Inspired to Decorate & The Wheel May Have a Name

On the Ravelry Babe Wheel forum, I came across some amazing photos from a fellow Babe owner.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilithparker/sets/72157603889587188/

I love the way the wheel looks. It is really beautiful.

She used Deco Art Americana paints & added some chainmail she had. Amazing...

It got me thinking that it might be cool to decorate mine!

My first thought was actually black with red & gold flames. *laugh* But I kept churning the idea in my head. Wondering what to do.

Something popped into my head. Morpheus. I will have to see if the wheel likes the name. But I don't know why, it works for me.

I might be time to reread the Sandman books again. It has been a while. But I like the idea of black with silver and perhaps some other colors. Spinner of dreams. *grin*

I am not sure yet. But I figure I can see if the name fits.

I Have Plied & My First Project with My Own Handspun

I Plied! Woohoo!

I did my first batch of plying yarn. I am super excited!

I spent time on Saturday plying the singles for the three fibers I had made into singles.

The first is the Ashland Bay Multi-Color Merino 64 Top Roving in raspberry color with other colors added.

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Purchased at the Yarn Tree in Brooklyn.

http://www.theyarntree.com

Spun about an ounce on my drop spindle, spin the remainder with my Babe Double Treadle Production wheel. I plied it with black thread as it was very thick in spots & very thin in others so I didn’t want to add more bulk by plying two stands together.

I have to say, not at all bad for my first plying attempt. After soaking to set the twist, 2 of the 3 skeins laid flat. The smallest skein was twisting some. However I was able to untwist it a bit when I knit with it. So I think it worked out really well for my first plying attempt.

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Left:

Kona Merino Mohair Roving in browns with some green.

Purchased at the Yarn Tree in Brooklyn.

http://theyarntree.com

Right:

Pencil Roving gifted to be from a terrific woman on Ravelry (who I suspect also got it at the Yarn Tree)

Single spun on my drop spindle. Plied with my Babe Double Treadle Production wheel. The pencil roving was plyed with black thread, the Kona was with green. The pencil roving wasn't as much thick and thin, but I still liked to not make it so thick. So I like using the thread.

I have to say, not at all bad for my first plying attempt. Done the same day with the Ashland Bay Multi-Color Merino 64.

I am definitely loving the wheel! It makes such a difference. And I really am enjoying it.

So what to do. I had the 4 oz of Ashland Bay fiber so I needed to knit something with it of course.

Pattern:

Instant Gratification Scarf by Cyn

http://www.cyn.ca/knit/patterns/instant-gratification-scarf/

Yarn:

My First Handspun!!

From Ashland Bay Multi-Color Merino 64 Roving

4 oz.

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Needles:

US 13 Knitpicks Options

I kove the pattern. It was super quick and easy. It also shows off the thick and thin texture of the handspun yarn very nicely. The twisted drop stitch gives it a bit more structure which is good given this is my first handspun!

This is pretty short. It is a neckwarmer, not really a scarf. I could have cast on less stitches to get more length, but I really like things wider. I will have to pin it in place. I definitely like it. My first handspun project!

It was a productive weekend which is good given it was too hot to step foot outside. *grin*