Wandering in the Heat

Here is the first pair of socks for the 52 Pair Plunge II on Ravelry:

 

I like the Tofutsies yarn, but dislike the pooling I got in parts of the socks. I don't dislike it enough to use two skeins and switch every two rows, as I've read you can do to prevent pooling. They're socks, not the Mona Lisa.

I finally settled down this afternoon and worked on the pink lace scarf from The List. I don't know why I have so much trouble getting things done on my day off. I even wrote a list last night (I'm big on lists, huh?) but I really didn't get much done from it. I'm not a morning person, and I have trouble getting up and going no matter how late I sleep. But it's after 6PM, and I'm starting to get the urge to get something accomplished. Most of the day was spent cleaning up clutter, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, and running laundry. That doesn't sound like much, but there was a lot of clutter! And I didn't even make it into the dining room, where the table is covered, nor the TV room, which is really my husband's domain. Therefore, I don't worry about it too much.

Sooo, I had to make myself sit down and think about what would be the most productive use of my knitting/spinning time. I decided on the pink lace scarf because I have to concentrate on it. That makes it the best project for times when interruptions will be at a minimum. I think I'm starting to get the hang of the repeats in this pattern. It's about time--I've only done about 9 repeats!

I also went downtown and bought a ball winder and looked for a standing cabinet for the kitchen. I'm glad there's a weaving shop in town, and that she had ball winders in stock. I had bought an expensive jumbo winder, but had a really hard time with it. I contacted the maker, who was extremely nice and helpful, and he had me send it to him to see if it needed tweaking. He called to tell me that there was nothing wrong with it, but that thin, slippery yarns don't work well on that particular winder. He very kindly refunded my money, and I guess I'll stick with the good old plastic winder from now on. It's a shame--that was a nice winder, but if it wasn't going to work for shawl yarn and sock yarn, it wasn't the one for me.

I discovered something today, as I was wandering in and out of shops downtown (all three blocks of it.) It's summer. It's hot. Hot weather makes me grumpy. I thank God every night for air conditioning (I'm not kidding.) A friend in Alabama told me that they've had temps in the 90's for weeks now. I would just die down there. If I didn't have air conditioning and ice cream, I don't know how I would live.

Speaking of ice cream...

Wandering in the Heat

Here is the first pair of socks for the 52 Pair Plunge II on Ravelry:

I like the Tofutsies yarn, but dislike the pooling I got in parts of the socks. I don't dislike it enough to use two skeins and switch every two rows, as I've read you can do to prevent pooling. They're socks, not the Mona Lisa.

I finally settled down this afternoon and worked on the pink lace scarf from The List. I don't know why I have so much trouble getting things done on my day off. I even wrote a list last night (I'm big on lists, huh?) but I really didn't get much done from it. I'm not a morning person, and I have trouble getting up and going no matter how late I sleep. But it's after 6PM, and I'm starting to get the urge to get something accomplished. Most of the day was spent cleaning up clutter, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, and running laundry. That doesn't sound like much, but there was a lot of clutter! And I didn't even make it into the dining room, where the table is covered, nor the TV room, which is really my husband's domain. Therefore, I don't worry about it too much.

Sooo, I had to make myself sit down and think about what would be the most productive use of my knitting/spinning time. I decided on the pink lace scarf because I have to concentrate on it. That makes it the best project for times when interruptions will be at a minimum. I think I'm starting to get the hang of the repeats in this pattern. It's about time--I've only done about 9 repeats!

I also went downtown and bought a ball winder and looked for a standing cabinet for the kitchen. I'm glad there's a weaving shop in town, and that she had ball winders in stock. I had bought an expensive jumbo winder, but had a really hard time with it. I contacted the maker, who was extremely nice and helpful, and he had me send it to him to see if it needed tweaking. He called to tell me that there was nothing wrong with it, but that thin, slippery yarns don't work well on that particular winder. He very kindly refunded my money, and I guess I'll stick with the good old plastic winder from now on. It's a shame--that was a nice winder, but if it wasn't going to work for shawl yarn and sock yarn, it wasn't the one for me.

I discovered something today, as I was wandering in and out of shops downtown (all three blocks of it.) It's summer. It's hot. Hot weather makes me grumpy. I thank God every night for air conditioning (I'm not kidding.) A friend in Alabama told me that they've had temps in the 90's for weeks now. I would just die down there. If I didn't have air conditioning and ice cream, I don't know how I would live.

Speaking of ice cream...

Storms, socks, and spinning

Still no Internet connection at home, so I'll just stay late at the office and do this.

That was one wild evening. We ended up heading for the basement at one point, because the sky turned that scary green, and when I see that I head for cover. (The Xenia, OH tornado in 1974 passed right over our heads. I don't like green skies.) We don't have actual tornado sirens in our teeny town, but the police were driving through all the streets with their sirens going, so that was good enough for me. We had lost our power, so we had no radio or TV until we found batteries for the portable radio. Yes, I know--that's not good disaster preparedness.

Missy grabbed the baby and some diapers, I grabbed the milk and water from the fridge, and we shooed the dog downstairs. We couldn't find the cats (not a good sign) so we had to leave them to fend for themselves. I also got my violin (couldn't carry the new wheel down there) and Missy got her favorite stiletto-heeled shoes. I can't believe neither of us got our knitting bags! Meanwhile, hubby headed next door to make sure our 94-year-old neighbors were safe in their basement.

The worst part didn't last long, so we ventured upstairs after about 20 minutes. It was still pounding rain, but the cats re-emerged from their hiding places, so I figured all was well. From about 7:30 on the lightening and thunder never stopped all night, even when it wasn't raining. The power didn't come back on until 6AM, saving me from having to take a cold shower, so I was happy. But it was sure hard to knit by candlelight that evening!

In other knitting news, I finished the pink Tofutsie socks. They feel so wonderful on my feet. I do like that yarn, except for the fact that it tends to split, so that can slow the knitting down a bit.

Since I finished those, I've been concentrating on the Dale sweater. I'm done with the hem and the bottom colorwork, and have done three rows of the body. I've been having trouble with it because one length circular needle is just a little to small for comfort, but the next length up is too long. So my hands can't take knitting on it as long as they can on another project. I'm also having trouble getting the gauge right, but it's hard to say with the colorwork. I hadn't done that for a long time, so the stranding was a wee bit too tight on the first couple of rows. I got my hands to relax as they got more familiar with the motions of using one color in each, so by the last color row, things were going fairly well. It looks so nice. I have to spread it out and pat myself on the back every once in a while just because it's so pretty! AND I managed to follow the pattern pretty well. I only had to rip back one row. Did you know that it takes about twice as long to rip back one row as it does to knit it? I didn't. But now I'll really take care to double-check the pattern every row!

I finished filling two bobbins on the wheel with the walnut-dyed roving, and plyed and skeined the yarn. I really love this yarn. Good thing--I'm going to have a lot of it by the time I'm done!

Less than two weeks until Summer of Socks! Gotta keep working on these projects! I'd like to finish at least one more before the 21st, but I'm not sure if I can. It won't be either the Dale sweater or the walnut wool, that's for sure! It's probably a good thing I still don't have access to the Internet at home. Instead of spending so much time on Ravelry, I can be knitting!

In short...

...huge storm Tuesday night. Blew our modems both at home and work. Have had no internet until 20 minutes ago. Am posting this at work. Shhhh.....

More later, I hope.

Lunacy strikes

This is the yarn I spun from the Fuzzarelly Fiber roving:



Nancy had sent me a selection of blends of different colors, so I blended them from pink to purple to blue. I think it will look really neat knitted up, and I found that the "Wing o'the Moth" shawl pattern calls for 200 yards to make a smaller scarf, so I should have plenty. I guess it's not technically a Finished Project until I knit it, but the spinning part is done, so I'm going to call that a FP. (Hey, it's my blog. I get to make the rules. And break them. Regularly.) Anyway, I've been struggling to not whip out the needles and cast on for this scarf, so I should be proud of myself for that! That would really be lunacy. Ha, ha--luna(as in moth)cy. Get it? Snort.

It was a joy to spin on my new Jensen wheel. Having the orifice on the right-hand side makes things so much easier. I don't twist my body when I spin now, so I can sit back and relax and not get so kinked up. Now that I've gotten the wheel set up and "broken in" I've been doing a lot of spinning with the walnut-dyed roving. I almost finished filling a second bobbin today, so I should be able to ply and finish a skein or two in the next few days.

Now comes the moment when I have to admit that I've gone and done something really idiotic. I blame it all on Ravelry. Really, that place is Danger Lurking As A Friendly Website. Once you get on there, you get sucked in. First you start looking at other people's stashes, then you start reading the forums, and next thing you know, why, you've joined four or five groups! And that's when the crazy begins.

So, ok, the first group I joined was the Summer of Socks group. But I already knew I was going to do that, so it doesn't really count. And the Sock Blankie Mania group kinda made sense. I mean, if I'm going to be knitting all these socks, it's a good way to use up the leftovers. It's mindless knitting, so it can be done while riding in the car or whatever, and there's no deadline lurking. Harmless enough, I'd say.

BUT. The 52 Pair Plunge, I'll admit, is just nuts. As of today, I have a year in which to make 52 pairs of socks. But I figured if I'm going to be knitting socks all summer anyway, they'll count toward the total. And, unlike the SOS contest, I don't have to knit adult socks. Baby socks count. And that's a good thing, because the Rugrat has outgrown the other two pairs I made her a while back. I know, I know--I'm just trying to justify lunacy, but what can I say? It sounded fun. And it's so easy to click on that little "Join this Group" button.

I've got 20 days to work on Project List #2. And then it will be nothing but socks, socks, socks. Unless I have a total meltdown and start twitching at the very sight of socks a couple of weeks into it!

Speaking (or writing) of the Rugrat, here are a couple of pictures of absolute adorableness, IMHO:




Gaaaah. It's just TOO stinkin' cute. I can't stand it!

Sorry. Random Grandma insanity moment...

Lunacy strikes

This is the yarn I spun from the Fuzzarelly Fiber roving:



Nancy had sent me a selection of blends of different colors, so I blended them from pink to purple to blue. I think it will look really neat knitted up, and I found that the "Wing o'the Moth" shawl pattern calls for 200 yards to make a smaller scarf, so I should have plenty. I guess it's not technically a Finished Project until I knit it, but the spinning part is done, so I'm going to call that a FP. (Hey, it's my blog. I get to make the rules. And break them. Regularly.) Anyway, I've been struggling to not whip out the needles and cast on for this scarf, so I should be proud of myself for that! That would really be lunacy. Ha, ha--luna(as in moth)cy. Get it? Snort.

It was a joy to spin on my new Jensen wheel. Having the orifice on the right-hand side makes things so much easier. I don't twist my body when I spin now, so I can sit back and relax and not get so kinked up. Now that I've gotten the wheel set up and "broken in" I've been doing a lot of spinning with the walnut-dyed roving. I almost finished filling a second bobbin today, so I should be able to ply and finish a skein or two in the next few days.

Now comes the moment when I have to admit that I've gone and done something really idiotic. I blame it all on Ravelry. Really, that place is Danger Lurking As A Friendly Website. Once you get on there, you get sucked in. First you start looking at other people's stashes, then you start reading the forums, and next thing you know, why, you've joined four or five groups! And that's when the crazy begins.

So, ok, the first group I joined was the Summer of Socks group. But I already knew I was going to do that, so it doesn't really count. And the Sock Blankie Mania group kinda made sense. I mean, if I'm going to be knitting all these socks, it's a good way to use up the leftovers. It's mindless knitting, so it can be done while riding in the car or whatever, and there's no deadline lurking. Harmless enough, I'd say.

BUT. The 52 Pair Plunge, I'll admit, is just nuts. As of today, I have a year in which to make 52 pairs of socks. But I figured if I'm going to be knitting socks all summer anyway, they'll count toward the total. And, unlike the SOS contest, I don't have to knit adult socks. Baby socks count. And that's a good thing, because the Rugrat has outgrown the other two pairs I made her a while back. I know, I know--I'm just trying to justify lunacy, but what can I say? It sounded fun. And it's so easy to click on that little "Join this Group" button.

I've got 20 days to work on Project List #2. And then it will be nothing but socks, socks, socks. Unless I have a total meltdown and start twitching at the very sight of socks a couple of weeks into it!

Speaking (or writing) of the Rugrat, here are a couple of pictures of absolute adorableness, IMHO:




Gaaaah. It's just TOO stinkin' cute. I can't stand it!

Sorry. Random Grandma insanity moment...

The Tale of the Walnut-Dyed Fleece (with photos!)

A year and a half ago, I bought a scrumptious Romney fleece at the Woolgathering in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I should have been organized enough to save the sales slip and maybe a business card, but I wasn't, so I have no idea who I got it from. But it was nearly perfect, with almost no VM (vegetable matter--in other words, straw and thistles.) After I washed it, it was a soft light gray. Unfortunately, I can't lay hands on a lock that I was sure I'd saved, so I can't show how it looked. (I have learned from that mistake, and have been saving paperwork and fiber so I can keep track of what I have and where I got it. As mentioned before, I can be taught.)

Anyway, I did wash it, and thought about spinning it in its natural color. But just at that time, our black walnut trees were showering us with hundreds of mushy green/black spheres that were serving no purpose but to stain our shoes. I got the brilliant idea to dye the fleece with the black walnut hulls.

Now, I don't really like dyeing anything. It's too much like cooking, and my family will attest to the fact that, even after almost 27 years of marriage, I can't cook worth a hoot. Oh, occasionally I can whip out the giant artery-clogging breakfast of eggs, bacon, gravy, hash browns, etc. But I wouldn't have the faintest idea of what to do with a pot roast, and I've never successfully fried chicken. So anything that involves measuring, mixing, and timing is not on my Must-Do List.

BUT. Walnut dyeing is stupid simple. You break the green hulls off the walnuts (then crack open the walnuts to use for baking if you're a masochist and happen to like the flavor. "No" to both for me, thankyouverymuch.) Break the hulls up into a big pot of water and let them soak for, ohhh, like, however long you want, but before it starts turning moldy. Then you strain out the hulls, throw in the fleece and let it soak for, ohhh, however long you want. You can even warm the water first, or you can just set it in the hot sun and let Nature do its thing. Push the fleece around a bit so it dyes more or less evenly. Drain, rinse, repeat, let dry. Tadaaa! A gorgeous brown-with-gold-highlights fleece!

Wait, did I mention that you should wear rubber gloves during this entire procedure? Did I also mention that black walnut stain is pretty much permanent? Did I tell you how I know this? Could it be because my hands looked gangrenous for weeks afterward because I didn't use the aforementioned rubber gloves? Even when the worst of the dark stain wore off my skin, the crevices around my nails were still almost black. I looked like I'd been digging in the dirt and didn't bother to wash up afterward. 'Twas a bit embarrassing.

The fleece, however, was stunning. I wasn't up to carding it, so I sent it off to Kent and Jenny Ferguson at Ohio Valley Natural Fibers where they carded it for a terrifically reasonable price. I now have a giant box of six pounds of fleece (minus the little bit I've drafted and the tinier bit I've spun.)

It doesn't look too remarkable in the box, but I could hardly wait to start spinning this wool. I wanted it to be thicker that the yarn I usually spin, and I had to retrain my hands to pull out more fiber from the roving so I would get an even yarn at the thickness I wanted. I finally had a sample I liked, so I filled a couple of bobbins and plyed them.

Then I couldn't wait to see it knitted up, so I did a couple of swatches, and was thrilled with the soft scrunchy feel of the swatches. I haven't washed them yet, and I'll probably do a couple more on different needle sizes, but I just love how this wool is turning out. Note the tags on each swatch, showing needle size and wraps per inch. I told you I can be taught!

I wish the photos could show the slight gold sheen on the yarn and the swatches. I don't quite know where that comes from. Is it something about the color of the fleece, or is it a quality of the walnut stain? Whatever it is, it's beautiful.

So now I have about 5 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces left to spin. I'd better get cracking for a couple of reasons. One is that the incredibly-patient-with-the-spinning/knitting/quilting-rubble husband is getting sick of the giant cardboard box in our bedroom. The other reason, well, I'll save that for a later post. But here are a couple of clues: Ravelry and the badges at the upper right of the page. You can probably figure it out.

BTW, if anyone wants walnuts this fall, you know where you can get some. I don't have any plans for them this year!