From Dyepot to FO

It has become a tradition that every year for her birthday I knit my best friend's daughter Carys a present. For her first birthday it was a sweater, a tank for her second and last year she was gifted the metro bear. This year I decided to take it a step further and enlist some of my newly learned skills in the creation of her present. I started by dyeing up some Coopworth/Merino blend, I call the colorway Starburst, after the flavorful fruit chews.

I then spun it into a nice lofty single.
And then created a two-ply yarn from the singles, I had about 150 yards of heavy worsted weight, an adequate amount to knit up her present.
I chose to knit the adorable felted ballerina slippers from Bev Galeskas. I had knit them once before and was thrilled with the result so I decided it would be the perfect project for the handspun. Here they are prior to felting.
And after.

I love the subtle variation in the colors of the yarn and how it patterned on the slipper.
I use the grip it mesh for dish shelves on the soles, they are an excellent way to prevent slipping, although they take away the fun of "skating" on the wood floors as my son will attest to.
Pretty ballerina slippers can only be adorned by the cutest buttons.
Although she has her eyes shut in this picture, I do believe that she liked them. I hope they keep her feet warm and dancing this coming season.
I did have a bit of the yarn left over so I used it to make a new little knitting accessories pouch.

And once again affirmed my lacking sewing skills by tackling a lining. I even managed to make a little pocket for my embroidery needles.
I found some needle felting supplies at Hobby Lobby and decided to add a few accents for a little flair.
So there you have it, two finished objects from start to finish. On to the next project.

Here is my latest yarn that I am so in love with! It started as this batt from Wooly Treasures. It is BFL, Alpalca and Bamboo. The singles:
All finished. It is 17wpi, 360 yards, navajo plied. It is probably the most consistent I have spun to date. I am thinking it will make a lovely pair of socks that I will knit up as soon as I finish some of the other projects I have on the needles currently.
Up Close:

Ooh I just love the colors. I am so pleased that it changed very little from the batt and that it did not get muddied.
I also recently dyed this. It is more Coopworth/Merino. I call it geranium. I am really thrilled with how it turned out. It was supposed to be pink and brown but somehow the brown turned green, but I love it all the same.
And I finished the socks I was making from the Superwash Merino from Spunky in the Dogwood colorway that I spun up. I love how the socks turned out. I did them toe up two at once on one circular, my favorite way to make socks.
They are definitely not identical but I love this yarn so much that it doesn't bother me one bit!
Up next, another project that went from the dyepot to FO in just a couple of weeks.
Have a fantastic weekend!

California Dreaming

At the last minute we decided to pack up the Yukon Xl and head out to CA. for the 4th of July weekend. We drove all night Thurs and arrived by noon on Friday. We checked into our hotel and promptly engaged in a nice long snooze. When the kids were at wits end and tired of Cartoon Network we awoke and headed for the beach. We were staying just a mile away from the shore in Manhattan Beach. Little A had previously avowed his disdain for salt water but there was something about the Pacific that cracked his resistance. He took to the water like the little fish he normally is at the local pool.
Maddie loved the water as well. All three days we were there we spent a good block of time at the beach, swimming, dodging waves, boogie boarding and the like.
A was a natural boogie boarder and could spend the entire day riding the waves if we had let him.
Friday night we went and saw the fireworks at the marina in Rodondo Beach. They put on a lovely display that was right above our heads. While watching we dined on some delicious local BBQ. Nothing says 4th of July like fireworks and ribs.

On Sat. we headed to Hollywood to do all the touristy things. I have been to Southern CA several times but have never seen Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and all the tourist traps. It was indeed a lot of fun.


Ian's one desire while in CA was to hit Roscoe's. Apparently it is a favorite haunt of Snoop Dogg and he wanted to have the opportunity to dine on this unique combination. It was actually very good, some of the tastiest fried chicken I have had in a while. The sweet potato pie was unbelievably good.
Sunday we spent at the beach again and then we headed home Monday morning. On the way home we stopped at In-N-Out in Vegas for one last fix of our favorite burgers. Oh how I wish they had In-N-Out here in CO.
We made it all the way through Utah Monday, but ended up spending the night in Grand Junction, too exhausted to continue on.
We were happy to arrive home safely Tues. but will definitely miss CA. The kids are ready to move, Ian is thinking of applying to schools there and I am still on the fence. But for now I am satisfied to be home where the gas prices aren't quite as bad.

HHHH Questionairre Answers

1. How long have you been spinning? A year and a couple of months
What skill level do you consider yourself?Beginner
2. What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)? Two plies, navajo plied and singles
3. What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)? Pretty much just my wheel since I bought it last fall
4. What are your favorite fibers to spin with? Anything you don't like? BFL, Merino, Bamboo,Soy silk, Blends. I don't like anything too scratchy, I pretty much stick to stuff that is next to the skin soft.
5. Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)? Copper Pot, Wooly Treasures, All Spun Up, Spunky Eclectic
6. What kind of fiber do you want to try? I am open to anything but cotton or linens...Nothing too difficult
7. Is there any techniques you would like to learn? I am really trying to get 350+yards of 3 ply out of 4oz. Not quite there yet.
8. Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn? See previous post
9. Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber? I would prefer ready to spin, although I am getting a drum carder this Aug!!!
10. What do you do with your handspun? What projects have you completed? Love it, pet it, admire it. I started a scarf and a pair of socks and am looking forward to knitting up more of it. 11. Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)? WPI would be great
12. What colors "fall into your shopping basket"? Any colors you just can't stand? I pretty much like all colors, Reds, oranges and jewel tones are my faves.
13. What is on your wheel/spindle right now? A lucious surf and sand bat from Wooly Treasures
14. What other crafts/hobbies do you have? I make stitch markers, beaded jewelry, scrapbooking and cards
15. Other than crafts, what are you passionate about? reading, spending time w/ my kids, cooking, shoes
16. Do you have an online wishlist?Nope
17. Is there anything that you collect? sheep, shoes, Louis Vuitton (wouldn't that be a fun swap lo.)
18. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What magazine subscriptions do you have?Nothing off the top of my head. I subscribe to Interweave, Spin off, but buy most all the other ones on a reg. basis
19. When is your birthday? Aug 5
20. What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality? Hmm... that is a tough one, not sure.
21. What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)? Hot, Hot, Hot.
22. Tell us one weird fact about yourself! I am a weekend goth girl with a closet full of black vinyl.
23.Favoritesfavorite painting/picture(link):
Candy: Dark chocolate, marshmallows.
Food: Sushi, Thai, Italian
Drink: Chai, Vanilla Stoli and Diet Coke
Movie(s): American Beauty, Pulp Fiction, Little Miss Sunshine
TV Show(s): Law and Order and SVU, anything on the History Channel, Forensic shows (the non fiction ones)
Book(s): Jennifer Weiner, Augusten Burroughs, Anita Shreve, Amy Tan are a few of my favorite authors
Guilty Pleasure(s): Massages, manicures, pedicures, hot baths, ice cream

I took the plunge...

straight into the dye pot! Finally, it is about time. I conquered my fear and decided it was time to dye. I recently took advantage of Knit Picks 40% off sale on books and added the dyeing starter kit into my cart as well. With these jars in hand as well as the books Color in Spinning, The Yarn Lovers Guide to Hand Dying, and the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook, I finally had the ovaries to jump in and do it. I should preface this post by saying this is by NO means a tutorial.

I started by mixing some dye stock. The Twisted Sisters book said to use 2 tsp of dye to 1 qt. of water, the Jacquard site said .5 oz to one cup of water for a very concentrated dye. Well I had bought 1 qt. mason jars so I decided on following the former. Unfortunately I didn't read carefully and thought it was 1T. per qt. Well 3 tsp. is 1T. so it would just be a little more concentrated, which should be fine right? I started by mixing the T. of dye with a bit of hot water, making a paste.
I then dumped it into my quart jars and filled them to the brim w/ very hot water and then let them sit for 1 hr.
During this time my roving was soaking in some warm water w/ a squirt of dish soap. I could not find synthrapol when I did my shopping and my google searches reassured me that dish soap would suffice. (so now we have done two things wrong...oops...cross fingers). I bought this Coopworth Mohair blend roving at Los Vigiles Living Arts in NM last April, so it has been sitting around over a year waiting for me to put my big girl panties on and dye it.
Once everything was ready I mixed up my dyes in squirt bottles. I made a lovely red shade, a rich orange, a subdued purple and a teal shade as well as a small mess. I then laid the roving out in two matching zig zags on top of a layer of craft paper and then plastic wrap. I had two 4oz. rovings which I planned to dye to match. (ha ha). Once arranged, I carefully squirted on the dye in no particular pattern, well I did make a bit of a mess and some of the placement was a result of where the color spills were.
Over all it looked pretty decent, not quite what I was going for but hey this is my first time at this. I then put it on the rack in the electric roaster I purchased specifically for dyeing. There it was to cook/steam for 20 min. Oh shit, I forgot to spray it with the vinegar before placing my bundles in the roaster. Double shit, some of the roving has fallen into the water and some of the dye is bleeding. Out it comes, holy cow that is hot! I unwrap it and squirt it with vinegar and then back in it goes having been re-wrapped. Check on it 10 min later to find the colors are so much more vibrant now that I did the vinegar step. But still, with all these screw ups what exactly is going to come out of the roaster? A mess of brown muddy crud?
After cooling a bit and a vinegar rinse, and then another plain water rinse this is what became of my roving. Weird, I only remember using 4 colors to dye it and yet we have this rainbow of shades.
I am in love. Why did I wait so long to do this? If this is what I get when I completely screw things up imagine what the possibilities are! This could become really addicting.

I am on cloud 9. I have already rationalized my new hobby. I explained to dh that by learning all these new skills I am actually saving him money. You see I could go spend $100 on yarn and knit a sweater OR I could spend $ on fleece or roving and dye it, spin it, and THEN knit it. See all that entertainment and joy stretches the dollar so much further don't you think? Is Shuttles open on Mon? I need some more undyed roving stat.

Everything is coming up roses...

Unfortunately I was unable to plant a garden this summer, time just got away from me and I didn't get the ground prepared in time. But I have been enjoying all the beautiful flowers that were already a part of our landscaping. It has been a delight to discover all the surprises blooming around the yard, an unexpected bonus of purchasing a new home. Thuy the previous owner had a weekly Gardener who did a fabulous job planting so many gorgeous plants. We finally turned on the fountain and it looks lovely with the roses blooming in front of it. We also discovered the tree in our front yard is a plum tree and is heavy with an abundance of plums. Does anyone have some good plum recipes, I am going to have more than I will know what to do with and I am happy to share. The rest of the pictures need no commentary, just enjoy nature's splendor.










Have a fabulous weekend!