Project found

Most times, you find a pattern that you like and then go searching for the right yarn.  You go into your yarn stash, jumped in the car to run to your lys or search the internet for the perfect yarn.

Or there are the times that you find a yarn that you need to find a pattern to use it.  That was the case that I found myself after getting that pretty yarn from Sage Yarns last week.

So off to Ravelry I go!  Looking through my saved favorites.  Searching through the database.  Stopping by my favorite designers.  Sigh.  The skein was not enough for a shawl.  No nylon as it is 100% merino wool so that left out socks.  I like my sock yarn to have a little stretch.

Then I remembered that one of my favorite designers, Nicole Montgomery released a cowl at the beginning of the month that could be used as a scarf.   I had overlooked it as I am not a cowl girl.  They just sit on the girls and they do not need any attention as they are already shameless hussies.  I also did not like the edging for a scarf.  It curled up which in a cowl, would look fabulous.  But not to my taste.  I decided to go with it as it was a simple 12 row lace repeat with resting purl rows.

Now to figure out an edging that did not curl.  I decided to go with a 3-stitch garter edge like on a shawl to help it lay flat.  I used the long-tail cast on and added a row of knit stitches before the row 1 purl on the chart to make for a cleaner edge.  The original pattern has the purl row being grafted together with the last row.

Cast on and got about 4 repeats for the pattern.  Looking REAL pretty.

Yarn shopping while on vacation

We very rarely go anywhere on vacation.   Up until recently, the idea of vacationing with Amanda's autism and eating issues seemed daunting.  How would she sleep?  What would she eat or drink?  But after Disney,  we were a bit more confident in attempting a vacation so we went to Cape Cod for a few days.  It was fabulous!   And I got to visit a local yarn store right down the road from where we were staying in North Falmouth called Sage Yarns.

I had goggled local yarn stores prior to taking the vacation.  After all, taking in new sights is  part of a vacation, right?  So after a day at the beach and before dinner, we headed off to the store.

Sage Yarns is a lovely shop in a newer complex.  Nice floor size.  Friendly folks.  Lots of pretty yarns.   I had specifically wanted to see Toil and Trouble up close.  Toil and Trouble is a yarn dyer in Salem, MA.  Brilliant colors on Etsy.  Unfortunately,  they only had the paler versions but still were very pretty. I may just have to order off of Etsy.  I have found most LYS(local yarn stores) usually carry more muted colorways.  At least near me.  Perhaps it appeals to more people.  I, on the other hand, go for bright colorways.  It would explain why I am moving towards dyeing my own yarns.

I did however find another yarn that I loved.  It is from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.  It is Soxie in Electroshock.  Bright greens, royal blue, purple and magenta.  100% merino wool.  Right up my alley. Perfect for a little something to remember my trip.

Now, off to Ravelry to find the perfect pattern!

Hand-dyed Self-striping yarn

I loves me some self-striping sock yarn.  I loved Knit Picks Felici yarn but only got to use it once before it was gone for good.  And it wasn't even a pair of socks for me :(  They went to my eldest spawn.

The saddest part is that I never got to use the Rainbow Striped colorway and I love rainbows.  The colors are the happiest colors together and it is hard to feel down when wearing rainbows!!!!  Even on the rainiest or coldest of days.

So off to the interwebs to find myself ideas on how to dye self-striping rainbow yarn!!!!  I have dyed a few solids and variegated yarns with food coloring.  I was quite pleased with the results.  So one Sunday morning, I spent searching for tutorials, tips etc.

Quite a few had you wrapping your yarn around chairs throughout your house.  Ummm.....one kitten, one elderly cat who turns into a kitten when Mommy is using yarn and two children make this seem daunting.  Nope!  Not for me.

So I came across warping boards that are used in weaving being used to wrap the yarn into segments.  ooooooo.......and then searched for how to build my own.  Or more appropriately, show my husband the idea and have HIM build it for me.

He was game.  Happy wife equals happy life.  And the family was off to Home Depot!  He asked me many questions.  Too many for my wee brain to handle with the girls playing with wood and saws in Home Depot.  SAWS!!!  But he persevered and got what he felt we needed.  Shopping complete and the girls with all their limbs still attached, we were on our way.  WEEEEEEEEE

Drum roll please!!!!

It allows for up to six different colors.  And of course, I jumped right in and wrapped the yarn and dyed Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple.  In hindsight, perhaps going for six color stripes for my first set of self-striping socks was a bit ambitious.  But hey, go big or go home!!!

It worked.  I have come up with other ideas.  The original wrapping suggested had me very confused on how to position the yard and undoing the dried yarn was a disaster.  It took most of a morning just sitting and untangling the yarn.  Some boards have another series of holes to place the dried yarn back on as it will have shrunk a bit.

Presenting my first pair of self-striping yarn

I am very happy with them.  Next set of yarn, I will wrap less rotations per color to narrow out the striping.  Actually may do the more scientific method of knitting a few rounds to see where I am happy and then undo and measure to get the precise number of wraps.

She who knits with cats!

My blogging skills regarding life fell to the wayside last year.   A good deal regarding my daughter's struggle with autism was not something that I wanted to share with the world.  She deserved privacy.  I decided to focus less on family and personal stuff so decided to create a blog about my crafting instead!

So what my plan here is to discuss my adventure in fibers!  I plan on documenting my varied projects along with adding new skills such as spinning and dying yarn.

The title does not mean that I knit with cat fur but rather refers to the hilarity that ensues with your felines take notice of the string moving about in your hands.  Even an elderly cat perks up and takes notice now and then!!!!

So I hope you enjoy my journey into learning new techniques and skills with me.  I hope to show that mistakes happen often and are part of learning new skills!