Learning Curve

Learning Curve

I think that every time I try something new there is a learning curve. I have confessed in the past that I am big about reading directions but today was a different matter. I have been trying to dye roving and yarns these last few weeks. To help myself learn I have purchased two books. The first one is The Yarn Lover's Guide to Hand Dyeing by Linda La Belle and Teach Yourself Hand-Dyeing Visually by Barbara Parry. I have been extremely pleased with both books. What one doesn't have (which isn't much) the other has. They have been very helpful and talk about dyeing with different methods, equipment, mediums and anything else you can think of. Both books were money well spent.

I have been investing in equipment so I decided to invest in some different dyes besides using Kool Aid. I ordered some Jacquard dyes and have been playing with them every chance I get. My first experience with dyeing was using Kool Aid and I wanted to step it up. And step it up I did.

My first try was roving. I tried two different methods. The first was using my crock pot. This method was totally random. I presoaked my roving in vinegar and water for 30 minutes. I t was wrung it out about half way and then put it in the crock pot. The instructions said to put about an inch of water in the crock pot and a wee bit of vinegar. The vinegar helps the roving to be more accepting of the dyes. I did use Kool Aid for this roving. I used two packets of orange, two packets of red and one of the grape. To make a long story short, I sprinkled the packets as per the directions and when the water was clear (after sitting for 2 hours) I got this result.

This is what the roving looks like in the crock pot. As you can see there are loads of colors everywhere. This can not be duplicated so I hope there is enough to make something good out of it someday! I was very pleased with the way it turned out. I rinsed it, washed it in Wool Wash and laid it out to dry for two days. The one upside to having horribly hot weather was that the roving dried much faster than I thought it would.

Here is the roving spread out on the drying rack getting dried. There are lots of color variations. I hope they will translate into some great looking yarn later down the road.

I was feeling so good about what I was doing that I tried another method. I used an old crab pot for the dyeing part. Anything that any dye has touched is now strictly for dyeing purposes. It's recommended in both books that you get separate equipment. So I have been using some old things to get myself started. I am going to need some measuring cups but am sure that the dollar store will be good for that.

So here is effort number two with the total immersion method. I did use some of the Jacquard dyes for this roving. I can't tell you which ones I used but boy did I love the results.

See the lovely red/maroon color. That was the second attempt at dyeing. I am so excited about how this turned out. I do love that color. Both rovings were dried and then rolled into balls and have been added to my roving stash.

So feeling very smug about how well I thought the two above attempts went I went full guns this time. I actually dyed sock yarn to see how that would go. I can see there is a problem for me. The skeins need to be tied up more so that they aren't a tangled mess when they dry. You will see what I mean here shortly!
These are two of my latest adventures into dyeing. They were both done in the crock pot. As you can see the blue one fared much better in the tangle department. I have no idea what I did to cause the purple one to look so horrible but I am going to buy some cotton shoe laces like one of the books recommend. The purple one will be a total nightmare trying to find the end and put on the swift for winding.

Here are some closer looks at the two above.

So the learning curve continues. I am so excited about all of this. If you have never dyed anything, try it. It's like a package that is waiting to be opened.

Spinning Binge
I have been inspired by loads of spinners around me lately. The last few months I have been trying my best to decrease my desire to buy yarn and increase my desire to spin. I have way more roving than what I need so I have been spinning to try and decrease my roving stash. So I dusted off my wheel and got to spinnin'.

This roving actually doesn't belong to me but I did spin it up. I loved the roving colors. They are my kind of colors. I was under the mistaken impression that what I saw on the outside would be what I would see in the finished yarn. Wait until you see this...
Okay, I can get it small but look at that color. Where is all that fabulous color I saw in the braid? Gone, gone, gone.
This is the finished product. What a difference. I was just as surprised as the person who owned the braid. Actually she gave me two braids and I spun each on onto separate spools. Then I plied the two singles together and that is what the outcome was. I was disappointed but liked it at the same time. I loved the green but this sure was not what I was expecting. The yarn weighed 110 grams. I didn't measure yardage because the scale was new and had to be tested.
The finished product went back to it's owner. I didn't need more roving in my never decreasing stash. On to the next project.

This finished yarn is ages old. It's so old that I am thinking that I have had it at least 5 years or more. I bought it at a craft show and was such a new spinner, I didn't even ask what kind of fiber it was and I threw away the tag. I think it used to be a pound but I couldn't tell you so many years later.
It's a two ply that is almost lace weight. I have enough I could probably do a shawl. I again, did not measure the yardage but only the weight.
I got a total of 177 grams. I have to admit I used this roving to blend in with other colored yarns in the past so the 177 grams was the left over amount in ball form. I want to dye this yarn but just haven't gotten around to it yet. That will be another post in the future.
Here is one spool of two that came from the roving below. This time the roving and the singles look the way I thought they would. The roving came from Juniper Moon Farms when I went up there to attend their spring shearing day. There is 8 ounces of roving but for the life of me, I can't tell you what kind of sheep it came from.


Here is the finished yarn. I love the color variations. This is small enough to make socks and I have...113 grams. I have never knit socks from my own hand spun, but I think this winter I will.
Now off to find the perfect pattern for my yarn. It will have to be a cuff down sock and it could be a lace pattern...the search is on!

Obession

Obsession
I have many obsessions but this current one has been so much fun and is moving right along. I have read blog after blog about knitters/crocheters that hate doing the same pattern more than once or who have so many UFOs they will never finish them because they were boring. What is boring to one could be the most quieting project ever. This is one of those projects for me.

I have written about this newly found project a few times ago and I am still in love with how this project is unfolding one square at a time. I have been having so much fun with this. Who knew? I was knitting socks and then BAM, along comes the mitered square blankie. It's a free pattern on Ravelry. If you belong and you have scraps of yarn you are wanting to chuck, this could very well be the project for you!

My project started with the most humble of little squares and has grown quite nicely. Here is my first set of squares. The yarn in this picture is yarn that I got from swapping with some other local blankie makers. The one on your left looking at the screen is mine. Remember this post? Well that's the yarn knit up in a 2"X2" square. The top one with blue is from another swapper that dyes her own yarn. The last one is from yet another swapper and it's name is so cute. Yarntini. The colorway is called Mint Choclatini. Love the name!
I have some beauty shots of how much the blankie has grown. I have found it to be super easy. I have enjoyed how simple it is and I am comfortable with doing the same thing over and over. It's sort of like telling your kids to pick up their room, over and over and then one day...they have a clean room and you are surprised! So here is my "Everything but the kitchen sink" blankie as of today. It's hotter than ever outside so took the beauty shots outside in the backyard.

Here are pictures showing the different yarns that I have either been given or I have already made socks from. I don't have solid colors as of yet or really large squares but they might be down the road.











I even have a nice baggie of various balls that are going to get smaller and smaller as time goes by. I will do updates when I have something to show. I am about to swap with 11 other women so there will be new yarns to add to this.

Got the swap yarn this evening. I am very excited about all the different interpretations about rainbow colors. This is exciting to me. So onward we go into rainbow mitered square land. Whee!

So This Is What All the Fuss Is About!

So This Is What The Fuss Is About!

I had no idea what all the fuss was about until yesterday. I have been reading and reading about it but didn't have a clue until this morning! I got to see an experiment come out just the way I had hoped it would. Isn't it great when a plan comes together especially when you are crossing your fingers and holding your breath the whole time it's unfolding?

I have been wanting to try my hand at dying fiber/yarn myself for a long time. So I read about half a dozen blogs and decided to take the plunge. Gathering up the supplies was super easy because until I got my confidence up I wasn't going to invest a ton of money in something that I wasn't sure was going to work. Now that I know it does, I will invest a little more money and see how it goes.

The first investment was a crock pot. I read how others who were dyeing things were using used or new crock pots dedicated to just dying. It was advised in every blog I read not to use the same crock pot for dying as you do for your food especially if you are using chemical dyes. I used simple food coloring so it wouldn't be problem but I had a feeling I was going to move up the dyeing ladder so I bought a nice red crock pot from Target for about $20. I could have gone to a yard sale and bought a used one but this was easier and I got a color that would fit in well in my kitchen.

First I started with fiber that I had spun back in 2006. It's been sitting in the stash for way too long and it's time I start using the stuff I spin. Since I have a pillow pattern via another blog, I decided that this fiber would be dedicated to the pillow. My room is yellow and I want a pillow to put on the bed.

This is only a small skein of what I had to dye but it gives you an idea. This was one of my first efforts as a newish spinner. It's Border Leicester that I was either given or bought. I see from the tag that I spun it on 1/27/06. See did I tell you it's been a while. One skein had 176 yards. The second skein didn't have yardage on it, but 4.3 ounces. I have no idea why I didn't keep track of the yardage. Anyway, I dyed both of those two skeins.

Here is a shot of the two skeins in the new crock pot. I think I filled it with too much water but when I drained out all the water the water was clear like I read it was supposed to be.

Here is one of the skeins after it was gently wrung out and it about to be put into a bag and then to through a small spin cycle in the washing machine. I am surprised at how bright it is. Looks just like sunshine!

Here is one of the skeins spread out for drying. Here is the second one...
Sorry about the background but the drying rack is in my sun room where I think it will dry much faster than inside in the house. I will have to go out and turn it over to make sure that it dries all the way through but I can't wait! So now I see what all the fuss if about and I know I will do more in the future. How can I not?? I will show the pillow in progress as soon as the yarn dries and I get started.

UFO Progress Report

UFO Progress Report

I have decided to try and stay on top of my UFO and be accountable for getting it done in a timely manner. How long that timely manner is...still remains to be seen. So I am headed down the road. This week I joined a swap that will add some more variety to my blanket. I joined a swap with some local women that I knit with on a regular basis. I am very excited to see what kin
ds of things they come up with that I can mix with my stuff that I already have.


The theme for this swap is Rainbow colors. This is my contribution. I purchased it from here. I purchased some Trekking XXL 311. I tried to find yarn that had most if not all the colors of the rainbow. After I purchased the yarn I came home and used one of my newest toys...a new scale. A yarn buddy let me buy it from her and it works great weighing my stuff. Of course it does grams and ounces. It's been getting a work out!
Since there are 20 people who are allowed to participate each person gets a 5 gram skein or ball. So the whole skein has to be weighed. It takes a while but look what the end results are... NOT enough balls! I only got 18 balls with the 19th ball being super small. See the little green one at the front of the picture? That was the left over yarn. I am not happy that I didn't get 20 balls out of it. I doubt that 20 people will sign up for the local swap so it might be okay but it still doesn't make me happy. So by June 22nd we (everyone) in the group should have different balls/skeins to add to the blankie.

Mine is not going as quickly as I thought it would because I had to take one out that didn't look right. Sure enough I ask our local blankie expert, Ashley and she said it wasn't in the right place and 2 seconds later it was frogged. I will re-knit it some time soon and hopefully thing will be back to normal and on a roll again.

Oh, and by the way. The yarn diet is offically over! I purchased four skeins of yarn today at the LYS because it was their birthday and I got 20% off.

A Day at the Farm

I have been lucky lately to be able to do some things on the weekends that are fiber related. In April I got to travel with my husband and met three other couples at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) fiber farm. Juniper Moon Farm relocated from Martha's Vineyard to Palmyra, VA. I can't say I was heart broken that they moved closer to me from NY. I had wanted to travel to NY but knew that was out of the question for a while. So when they moved closer, that was my opportunity to do a farm visit. In April they did a spring shearing. It was like no other sheep shearing I have been to. The farm and the house where the hostess lives were open to everyone who came. I didn't take very many pictures because I was busy socializing but I did manage to get a few shots off.

Here is a shot where the ladies are waiting their turn to get their summer clip. There is one who is not like the others. Can you find him? Some of the ladies got sheared already and some have their babies with them.

Here is a shot with a mom and her twins. The hostess put matching ribbons on the moms and their babies so we could see who belonged to whom. Everyone was so cute.

Here is the woman who came to shear. I heard she has won awards for doing such a good job. The shearing took place in the barn and everyone found a good place to see everything that was going on.

Here another picture of the same animal. This was seemed very relaxed and really didn't put up much of a fight. It must know that summer is coming and this really is the best way to cool off.

Of all the animals on the farm I am most excited about meeting this guy below. His start in life was very hard and his twin didn't make it. This is Rushworth. He is the smallest lamb I have ever seen. I think the time we took this photo he weigh 5/6 pounds. He was so small he could walk underneath is mom to nurse. It was so much fun watching him huddle close to his mom when they laid down in the barn. How could anyone not all in love with little guy?



Watching Rushworth nurse was so cute. He just stands under mom and gets what he needs. Way too sweet. The day at Juniper Moon was really fun. There was a pot luck, items to be bought, fiber to be fondled and lots and lots of happy people, goats, sheep and dogs. The chickens looked a little concerned with so many people coming and going but when we all went to eat behind the house I think they got happier. If you have a chance to visit Juniper Moon Farm that would be great. If you don't then you can check out their forum on Ravelry. They even have a LambCam. It's outside in a little shed where you really get to see lots of sheep and goats. I did make a purchase while at the farm so I feel like the day was totally complete. I have not spun this up yet but hopefully it will be one of the next two things to be done. I will post what it looks like once it's done.

A Future UFO

A Future UFO

I am in the process of starting a future UFO. My fiber friends (who are also known as enablers) introduced me to new group on Ravelry. It's called BlankieMania. I need to get my head examined but I joined. I have not however joined a swap on the site but instead decided to be a part of a small group here locally.

So to get ready for the local swap I used a ball of sock yarn that was spending way too much time in my sock stash drawer. My friend Ashley gave me her digital scale after I made a fuss about it on Facebook. A check was written and now I am the proud owner of the cutest little digital scale for weighing yarn.

The point to the swap is to measure out 20 balls of yarn that all weigh 5 grams each. There are 20 people in the swap and everyone does the same thing. Then all the yarn is mailed along with a SASE to the swap moderator and she gives everyone one of all the skeins and packs then up and off they go back into the mail. Each person gets 20 different little skeins to start on a sock blankie that is made up of a bizzion little mitered squares. This will be a long term project or a future UFO.

I chose yarn that I really am not wild about-it has pink. I am not a huge fan of pink or blue so this one could go. Maybe someone will be crazy about the color. I honestly don't know why I bought this stuff but I did and now it's going to have some new homes! So stay tuned for the future UFO.

New Addition

New Addition
I know this post will be shocking for some and amusing for others. I just thought I should go ahead and talk about it first and get it done. This is mostly for my family members. This will be shocking in a way for them but they know me so maybe it won't be THAT shocking.

For those who don't know me very well I am a bit rebellious and I do things that my family does not always approve of. Take tattoos for instance. I got my first one when I was well into my 30's in Kingsville, Texas while attending a conference for Navy Wives Clubs of America. I was with a group of friends and of course we egged each other on and I caved. I got a very small yellow rose (in a place not for public display) and have been very happy with it ever since. I then got a second tattoo in my 40s while again away from home at a conference for the United States Personal Chef Assoc. in Tucson, AZ. A friend took me to a place where she had a tattoo done and I had another small tattoo (yet again in a place not for public consumption). Do we see a trend here??

While my oldest son and my DIL came to visit in April this year, we visited a tattoo parlor in Norfolk. No, it was not exactly for me but for my son. Actually we both were thinking about getting a new tattoo but I was the only one who made an appointment. The appointment was for Friday, May 7. I did loads of research about what I wanted my tattoo to look like and told the artist what I wanted. Thankfully I had another friend who had a similar tattoo done there so he was familiar with the other artist's work. I kept the appointment. Of course I took morale support and it was needed. If you have ever had a tattoo in a sensitive place you understand the morale support concept. They are there to distract you from swearing and screaming out loud.

This is what happens when you get home from such an adventure. You sit with a lovely bag of frozen peas and wait for the swelling to down. It takes a while but this is a good start.

Yes, that is my foot. Very sensitive place. I had heard this before getting my tattoo but now I know it for sure. Hurt does not begin to describe getting a tattoo on my foot. Agony is more like it. I took some Tylenol before going but that didn't even begin to put a dent in the pain. Alcohol would have worked much better in my humble opinion. It's not allowed but I sure could have used some! Here is what the pain and agony was all about.


I wanted a design that was all me. I am a native Texan and a dedicated knitter so I wanted a tattoo that represented that. So here is my concept. The artist did a great job knowing what I wanted. I was super pleased and am thankful that it turned out so well because it's not like I get a redo if it goes badly...


It's in my favorite color and includes my favorite state. Here is what I see and down below is what everyone else sees.

This what everyone else sees when I am barefooted. I have been trying not to wear shoes all weekend to give it time to heal. Right now it feels like a wicked sunburn. In a few more days the pain will pass. I will however have to invest in some really good sunscreen so that my color stays fresh. I can always go and have a touch up of the color but hopefully that won't be for a while.

So now I have gotten a tattoo in my 30s, 40s and 50s. I am now thinking about what to do in my 60s. Any ideas? I was thinking about a spinning wheel or maybe some sheep... or....

Catching Up

Catching Up

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged until the other day. I just have been caught up in a heavy work schedule and lost track of time. So much has been going on, that I hope that I can remember what to catch up on. I have been knitting on the same project forever. I am not one for having a lot of UFOs hanging out so I have been working on the same thing and it's boring me to tears. I made a promise not to buy any yarn until Maryland Sheep and Wool and I haven't. I am debating whether or not I will hang in there another six months and not buy anymore yarn. I am positive that I can, but I am wondering about gifts for friends and family. What if I don't have a color they like for a certain project? My taste seems to be more earth tones and more subdued colors compared to what everyone else likes. So I keep working on this project until the answer comes to me.

I joined a local CSA (Community Support Agriculture) farm that does a fiber CSA. I split a share with another spinner. I am very excited to see how it goes. I think we might get to attend a day of dyeing and then get our shares in the fall after they come back from the processor. I will post all of this as soon as it happens.

I came and went to Maryland Sheep & Wool Show with a group of ladies that were tons of fun from a knitting group that I belong to. Had a great time and made a few smallish purchases and one really long overdue one.

Just this past week (5/7/10) I added something new to me. It was painful but I thought it turned out well.

We got the garden in and a new rain barrel hooked up to the one we bought last year so watering the garden should cost us a little less. The next big addition is going to be a compost bin of some sort. Can you tell I am really into the gardening thing. If I could figure out where to put a bin for Vermicomposting (composting with Red Wigglers) I would. I am afraid the dogs would go after the juices that come from that kind of composting. Not a wonderful thought.

So can see that I have been busy doing thing and I have been taking pictures in hopes that I would be able to find time to catch up on what's been going on. So stay tuned for posts on each of the events listed above. I took pictures for the purchases for MDS&W and hopefully I can get some posts done this week with my lesser working schedule. So please hang in there with me while I do some catching up!

MIA

MIA
I know I have not been around because I have been working more hours than I can handle so blogging and most knitting has fallen by the wayside. I have been some great adventures but I am just too tired to blog about them right now. My schedule changes next week so hopefully life will be more quiet and I will have time to knit, sleep, sleep, garden, knit and sleep some more. So please hang in there and I will have some accounts of the last few weeks. They really have been very busy with work and fiber adventures.
Thanks,
VAPurl

Shaving Day
As promised I am doing a follow up to show you the before and after picture of Frick and Frack. Like both males and females, a good shave always improves the way they look. Felted objects are not exception to the rule.

Here is Frick's before shot. Frick is a very hairy bowl!
...and now the newly shaved Frick. Check out how much hair came off of Frick

Here is Frack before. Not quite as hair as Frick.

Now a newly shaved Frack. Much better!

I am by no means a felting expert but I feel like I am getting better at understanding what I like in my felted projects. I think when the yarn diet is over later this year, I will buy some more colorful yarn and felt with brighter colors and invest in a book that talks about techniques that I might be missing. Felting is scary the first time but after you've done 5 or 6 projects, you get more confident in what the expected results might be. So, that's Frick and Frack at their best! So try some felting today. You will totally be delighted with yourself.

Frick and Frack
I got an idea the other day and since I am still on the stash down diet, I went right to the stash. This time I went to a drawer in my collection that I don't usually take things out of. It's my hand spun drawer. I am really good at putting finished skeins in there but not knitting anything with them. I know whatever I knit with my hand spun wool, can't be washed in the washing machine or dried in the dryer, so I never use it because most people don't want to hand wash anything these days. I did make one scarf and I made this last fall. Since that went so well I decided I needed to try it again. So I did...

I used the Felted Bowls pattern from One Skein by Leigh Redford. Her bowls that were featured in the book look WAY smaller than mine but yarn and needle size have a way of doing that. I used two strands of both colors to give the bowl a more bulky thickness. I wanted the bowl to be more sturdy. Size 15 Addi Turbos and US15 dpns were the needles that I used in both projects.

After I finished the first bowl I decided to try a different look and ended up with two completely different looks. Just for grins and giggles I tried them on and they make great saggy hats. I might have to try this again and actually make a hat next time I get a whim. So there are two knitted potential bowls. Don't they look like hats??

This bowl was supposed to be a stripped look. I didn't read the directions for the decrease rows and ended up not making a bowl exactly. At first I tried to use the back of a bowl but the bottom was too narrow. So I noticed the jar we store the dog treats in and tried to stretch it over that. Perfect! The top white band seemed a bit wishy washy so I solved that by folding it over on itself. As soon as booth projects are done I will cut any loose ends that didn't felt and give them nice close shave to make the look less fuzzy.

The second bowl, actually turned out looking a lot like the first bowl that I made back in the fall of last year for a swap. I used the same yarn as the first one and the same sized needles but this time I changed up how I used the yarn. I blended the two colors together for a major portion of the bowl. I tried to do two color knitting around the band of white and that didn't go as well as I had hoped. So I will keep trying until I get the results I want. Anyway it was fun and I used some yardage of my own stuff. I am hoping to do other things with my homespun so that I can make room for more spinning that needs to be done. I might do more spinning in the summer months than in the winter this year.

Here are Frick and Frack together being molded. In a few days I will take them off and then let the insides dry and see how they hold up.