Whew! It's Been Awhile!

Recently, I made my first tentative steps into the world of dyeing. It was surprisingly easy! I used Kool-Aid and followed a couple of online tutorials. I'll post the links when I find them.

First I soaked some handspun:



While that was going on, I mixed the "dye" (pronounced: Kool-Aid). As always, I was shocked that people actually allow their kids to drink this stuff. Digital photography does not capture the un-natural (and unholy) colour!


Then I put the thoroughly wetted yarn into a large Ziploc bag and dumped in the colour. After squishing it around a bit, I stuck it in the microwave for 2 minutes (I didn't completely seal the bag...didn't want the thing to explode, after all!). Then I let it rest for 2 minutes. I repeated this process --heat, rest-- a couple more times until all of the colour was exhausted (which was cool!).


This is the finished result...a very pretty (and nice smelling) shade of blue). Once it cooled down, I rinsed it in warm water with some dishwashing liquid, then hung it up to dry.


Just in case you're interested, I used two packets of "Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade".


It was really fun! You should try it!

On a separate note, today I came into the possession of 2 beautiful alpaca fleeces! What a fabulous way to start the morning! Fresh coffee and 2 giant bags of fibre! I love it!


The darker of the two came from an alpaca named Casey and it has almost a reddish tint to it. The lighter one is from Princess. They're gorgeous!

Over Christmas, my fabulous mother-in-law gave me 4 pounds of kid mohair...you read right...4 pounds! I've been washing, picking and combing it and the final result is glorious! I've never much cared for mohair. Turns out that the cheap "mohair-like-fibre" in the bargain bin is NOT mohair at all! The real stuff is so soft and shiny!


And some close-ups:

Short Row Heel

I've been knitting socks for several years and only use the short row heel. I guess I just like the look and the fit better than a square heel. I've been asked about this heel many times and because I do it without thinking, I have a difficult time explaining it! I think saying "wrap the next stitch" confuses people. It's not really difficult, it's just a matter of seeing it and understanding it.

I decided that it might be helpful to demonstrate a wrapped stitch. This demo heel was knit in contrasting colours, so the wrapped stitches would be visible.

So let's see how this goes!

Knit to the last stitch:


Bring yarn forward:


Slip next stitch as if to purl:


Move yarn back:


With left hand needle, slip stitch back:


Completed wrap:


Turn your work:


Completed heel:


Voila! It's as easy as that to wrap a stitch!

Next I'll try posting a whole pattern!

Hmmm...It's been awhile!

I hadn't realized that I haven't posted in so long! This post if for all the people pestering me! You know who your are.

Here are a few photos from Knitting Night:

First and foremost, Ms. KW learned to knit socks! For someone who wouldn't even finish a leg warmer, this is a huge step! She even has a STASH! Pretty good for someone who said they'd never knit again. Now if we can only get her short row heels in order!



Second, I'm sorry to say that poor Ms. VI had to be enrolled in remedial knitting. :( There were a couple of "incidents" that had the rest of us thinking that tape and glitter glue were more her speed. However, she surprised me by agreeing to knit a mitten. I'm a firm believer in having beginners knit mittens. It's a small project so it moves along quickly...and you learn almost everything you'll ever need to know! There's increases, decreases, stitches to pick up, knitting, purling and working in the round.

Well, Ms. VI dug in and worked away! Here she is knitting in the round for the first time and she even looks like she knows what she's doing! Next week we're gonna make her drop a stitch...ON PURPOSE! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!



Ms. DC has been working away on mitts. To my great pleasure, she has thrown out the acrylic crap and gone back to using wool. Thank god! Here she's working on a pair of mittens for a Calgary Flames fan. How nice is that? Perhaps we'll get a photo of the finished project because they're pretty cool!



Ms. DP has been working away on a beautiful sweater in some kind of delightful yarn. I'm sorry I don't remember the name, but I think it's the yarn made from recycled Indian saris. So pretty! She's been alternating between this sweater and a lovely pair of socks made out of Kroy Stretch. I'm looking forward to the finished products!



And finally, there's me. Someone took my picture while I was knitting my lovely alpaca lace scarf...and because I'm vain, I'll include two photos!



I'm over coming my fear of lace knitting by forcing myself to just do it. So far I've chosen simple patterns with a maximum four row repeat. Anything more and my brain starts to melt! Anyway, this yarn is Alpaca Sox. I love it. It's soft and fuzzy and a beautiful colour!

Finally, we have two new additons to our little group of knitters. They're not particularly accomplished, but they're always entertaining!