Psychedelia

I just can't stop dyeing sock blanks to get self striping yarn . . . . . and here is another example! One side was dyed black, and the other was supposed to be yellow, turquoise and bright, fuchsia pink. Some of the colors bled, giving some areas of purple and green. Not what I intended, but wow, the finished socks are quite fabulous!


What do you think?!

More from the Cauldron!

I had a great weekend this weekend working with the cauldron and dyeing up lots of lovely yarn including some super-soft MCN (merino/cashmere/nylon) that I kettle dyed.

I also dyed up some sparkly 'Twinkle' yarn (the rose/green/yellow and the lilac/green/yellow) Although it is hard to see on this photo, the yarn has little strands of silver running through it - very pretty!

Finally, I inadvertently bought some sport yarn rather than fingering and so I will be knitting this up myself; toe-up I think, so that I can get the most of the yardage. The blue/brown cream and the rose/brown cream is that yarn. Completed socks will be posted here :o)

The yarn is for sale in my Etsy Shop - so pop over and take a look!

Before and After

So here we go - this is what some of the blanks look like once knit up - starting with a rainbow dyed blank that had diagonal stripes. All the blanks are knit with double strands, and the socks are knit TAAT (two at a time)

For this yarn, I also wound it into a cake to show how the stripes looked. Fab!

And here are the socks - as you can see the color transition into each other sue to the diagonal dyeing.

In comparison, these socks were knit front a blank with horizontal stripes. The stripes are more pronounced, but nonetheless, they look great!


This blank was dyed to represent sky, grass and earth - a bit of a mish-mash of colors . . .

And they were knitted up into a pair of socks for hubby. Lovely - and more to follow!

Fresh out of the Dyepot!

Well, I had a fantastic weekend playing with the cauldron and this is what emerged! I wanted to try out dyeing sock blanks as the transitional changes of color can be quite spectacular. I made up the blanks on my Bond knitting machine using two threads so that the socks would be pretty much the same when knitted up. This design is based upon a landscape - blue sky, green grass, brown ground. It sounds uninspiring, but I am sure it will look great when knitted up - these will be for hubby xxx


The next blank is a rainbow - Dad wanted rainbow socks . . . . really! I actually did two rainbow blanks - one with horizontal stripes and the other with diagonal stripes. The diagonal striping will have more gradianting (it is a verb you know!!!) color stripes, it will be fun to see the difference!

At the end of my dying session I usually have some dye leftover - I also already have some made up solutions, so without further ado a splashed it all over a final blank . . . . it will henceforth be known as 'Fugly' - but I bet it turns out the best there is!


And finally -I dyed up some self striping yarn. This is my first attempt and involved a 32 foot circumference . . . . I won't be doing that again in a hurry! I had some spare yarn left and have a 'test skein' to knit up - photos to be posted soon!

Titanic

The Titanic Exhibition is here in Calgary, and what a fantastic exhibition it is. When you enter you receive a replica of the original boarding pass with details of one of the passengers. As you go round the exhibition you get the opportunity to learn a bit more about your passenger - the deck that they are on, and if you are lucky, you can see some of their possessions. As you leave you find out whether your passenger survived - I am pleased to say that mine did, but hubby's perished.

The actual items recovered from the sea bed are (in some cases) in amazing condition. One such items was a toothpaste container of which you could buy a replica in the gift shop.


Oh, and there is a piece of the ship in the exhibition that you can actually touch - it really is quite amazing and well worth a visit.

More FP's!

Well, this month has started the year off brilliantly. I have managed four finished projects - and I think that I may manage to sneak in another before close of business tomorrow!

First of all I have a pair of 'Knuckle Dusters' using Sue Brady's Basic Fingerless Mitts pattern (on Ravelry). The yarn is a smooshy cashmere/merino blend that I hand dyed. They fit perfectly and I have received many comments about them - I think that I will be knitting many more pairs for future birthday & Christmas presents :o)


I then completed a pair of 'car socks' that I can knit in the car on the way home from work :o) The yarn is Felici from Knit Picks and is just as lovely to wear as to knit. Lovely :o)

Finally, I finished the Christmas socks from the kit that Santa bought me. They are made from another cashmere/merino blend that is fully washable (yay!) So, if I keep this up, I could have 52 finished items by the end of the year . . . is it possible . . . we will have to see!

First Finished Project 2011

Last night I completed my first pair of socks for 2011. They are Coral Hederas and knit from Cookie A's Hedera pattern using Patons Kroy yarn hand dyed by myself. I'm very pleased with these and will probably test drive them today!

I did not keep a record of how many socks that I knit in previous years, so I am ready to start here! I would hope to knit at least one pair per month as a minimum but will aim for two pairs. I shall update the bar on the right with my 'finished' so watch this space :o)

SSS

Also known as 'single sock syndrome'. Sigh . . . . this is the bain of many a sock knitter - well, those of us who knit one sock at a time! So here is a small selection of some of my 'singles' who are looking for a partner!

This sock is knit using Knit Picks Tonal yarn - a lovely merino superwash yarn. The pattern is Serab by Hunter Hammerson and is a quick easy knit. I'm very pleased with this sock, and plan to knit its partner very soon! Hunter is about to release a book of sock patterns, I have pre-ordered the download version, and this pattern was a 'taster' from the book. If the others are anything like this, I am in for a treat:o)

I have used my 'Billy Basic pattern for this sock - it really is a simple pattern. This is the yarn from one of my Christmas presents which I photographed for an earlier post. The yarn has cashmere in it and it is supper soft. I have cast on for the second sock and it will be one of 'commuting' projects that I knit in the car when hubby is driving.

I am taking part in a KAL (knit-a-long) on Ravelry and this is my sock for January on the Cookie A KAL. The pattern is called 'Hedera' and the designer, Cookie A, is giving a talk and class in Tofino in April. I have booked to go and see her and am very excited about that! The yarn is my hand dyed 'Cherry Love'. I had planned to use the yarn for Serab, but it is a bit too thick for the tension - however, it suits Hedera perfectly. I am halfway down the foot so should have the pair finished this weekend. Another quick and easy project . . .

And finally a taster from my dye pot :o) I have played around and produced a spectrum that I will be using when my 'bare' yarn arrives. The colors here look so glorious and vibrant, I can hardly wait to start dyeing. I will be using the trade name of 'Witches Brew' and will be selling it on my Etsy site - so pop over and take a look!

Out of the Dye Pot!

OK, so I officially have the dyeing bug! After playing around with Kool Aid, I thought that I'd play around with some more dyes - in this case, Wilton's. I'm really pleased with the way that these have come out and wanted to share them! i used the microwave to 'cure' these yarns. The first is a Knit Picks Merino Bare and violet dye. I love the way that the dye 'broke' and the component colors, the pinks and blues, look lovely.


I am totally in love with this colorway, and will be replicating it in the future under the name of 'Kingfisher'. it consists of a number of blues/teals and copper for that contrast. Love it, love it, love it!



This is from a kit that I bought about a year ago from Gina Brown's in Calgary. The kit is by Louet and consisted of three 50gm skeins. Hubby loves the color way, so it looks as though there will be a pair here for him!


And finally, this is an experiment that went (a little!!) wrong, but I rather like the result! The plan was to have light green, yellow and lilac stripes. The green turned brown (it looks khaki in this picture, but is truly a lovely warm brown), but still looks pretty good! To me it seems as though the dyes know what they want to be and do rather than wanting me to impose my designs on them. . . . more practice required before I become the 'yarn listener'.


My next step will be to make a color wheel comprising of 12 colors. I've got one last ball of Patons left, so will probably use that to make mini skeins to practice with! Once I've done that, I think I will be making up yarn for my Etsy Shop. Woo hoo!