Hi there!  We had our Dye Day for GLASC last Saturday and our focus was dyeing with food coloring.  I really like the fact that food coloring is a pretty safe dye and that you can really get vivid colors.

I dyed it red on Saturday and I ended up with quite a few white spots.  At first I was tempted to leave it as it was however when it dried fully the next day the color was more pinkish rose instead of red.  White spots are one thing, but I did NOT want pink yarn, so back into the dye pot it went!
It has dried fully now and voila!  Red yarn!

Last Wednesday I completed my project in my weaving class.  Unfortunately the class is the same day as church so last Wednesday was my last class.  When I put the warp on the loom my idea was to weave a shawl out of hand spun yarn.  I wanted a simple plain weave so that the pattern did not overshadow the beauty of the hand spun.  I got the yarn at an estate sale in Santa Barbara County and put it in my stash until I found a good use.  The warp (which I also got at the same sale) was pre-cut as the sale was from a weaving teacher who had passed away.  I did not realize that the shawl would end up so long.  I don't know why it did not occur to me.  Duh, long warp = long project.

With the length of weaving folded double I would still have a long enough shawl.  Of course my classmates came to my rescue!  They said make a ruana!  A ruana it is.  When I complete it I will post pictures.  I am including a picture of the weaving below.

Promised pictures and new pictures

Yesterday was an interesting day.  The weaving guild I belong to (IEHG) had a Dye Workshop day.  Our host (who has a beautiful Victorian home) had several dye stations set up outside in her car port.  We were using dyes specifically for protein fibers (wool, silk, alpaca etc...) and they were the same colors we had at the Studio 66 Retreat.

It was hot but there was a breeze as the afternoon went on.  I brought 8 skeins (4 skeins Knit Picks Bare Gloss and 4 mystery wool skeins from the slush fund table in weaving class) to dye.  A lot of people brought silk hankies (for spinning not for noses), silk scarves and silk ribbon.  I think a few other brought wool but it was easy to tell ours apart.  The colors turned out beautiful!!!!

I dyed one skein of the mystery wool in the same colors I used for the silk ribbons at the Studio 66 Retreat.  It came out complementary (at least I think so).

Mystery wool dyed in rose colors

Wool with Silk Ribbons

Silk ribbons alone (dyed at Studio 66 Retreat)

The day got even more interesting as when I went to go home my car keys were missing.  We looked high and low, I dumped out my bags and no car keys.  It was rather clear that my keys had probably gone home in someone else's bag. Our host offered me the use of her car to go home and pick up my spare car keys!  That was VERY nice of her.  She said I could keep it overnight if necessary however I decided to go get the keys and bring her car back immediately.  This seems rather easy except I live 44 miles away.  It took about 5 hours to complete the trip home, the trip back and then the second trip home in my car.  Between the trip home and the trip back I sent out an email (from the list of attendees they gave me) asking everyone to look in their bags.

This morning when I was getting ready for church, sure enough I got a phone call from one of the other ladies (I missed it as I was in the other room) and an email letting me know that my keys were in the bottom of her yarn bag.  I gave her a call right back and we arranged that I would pick them up this afternoon. Of course it would not be anyone close by, she lives 84 miles away from me.  Can you say sitcom?  I decided to make an afternoon of it and went to some outlet stores I have been curious about for the last two years on the way home.  Needless to say I am very happy I am back at home with my keys!

I have been lucky in other ways as at the Studio 66 Retreat and the spinning guild I belong to (GLASG) I have won fiber to spin!  At Studio 66 I won BFL and a wool/alpaca blend.  At GLASG  I won camel down and silk top.

Wool and Alpaca blend from Studio 66.

Cut Silk Top and camel down from GLASG

Blue Face Leicester (BFL) from Studio 66

Mystery wool 1

Mystery wool 2

Mystery wool 3

Knit Picks Gloss Bare

Nanine's Cowl

As usual I have been extremely busy however this time I had time to put in some fibery fun!  I went to the Studio 66 Retreat and took several projects with me (knitting, weaving, spinning).  Of course as I was procrastinating I did not take Nanine's cowl with me.

The retreat was in Forest Falls, CA in the mountains and the cabins are very good.  I don't particularly care for camping so cabins with showers, sinks and toilets are my idea of how to spend time in the mountains.  Linens and towels are provided so there was more room for yarn in my bags!

There were several demonstrations and I attended Navajo plying on the fly, pickups on a rigid heddle loom and making paper beads.  We also all got to dye silk ribbons (the ribbons and dye were provided)!!  I ended up with Victorian rose colors. I promise to put pictures up soon.

Anyway, it is time for my friend to move so I had to get her cowl done. I thought to myself about what pattern would be good for her cowl as my requirements were that it was black and thick (she is moving to a cold place).  I had only one skein of Wool Ease Thick and Quick left over from my Charley bonnet so I had to figure out how to make her a cowl with one skein and it still be substantial.  I had a backup skein of Paton's Divine just in case it would not come out large enough.

Lion Brand has a cowl on their website named Ribbed Cowl and so I took the stitch count and rib pattern from that.
Here is what I came up with:

Materials:

One skein Wool Ease Thick and Quick 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool, 106 yds, 90 m.

One spool of Offray Double sided satin ribbon 7/8” by 18 feet (only part of the spool is needed).

Size 13 (9.0 mm) circular needle (24” size is probably best).

One stitch marker.

Cast on 80 stitches being careful not to twist the stitches.  I knitted on the stitches in k2, p2 ribbing so that the cast on would be stretchy.

Knit for 4 inches in k2, p2 ribbing.

Make eyelets:

K1, yo, p2tog, p1 around the row.

Knit the next 4 inches in k2, p2 rib.

Bind off in pattern (k2, p2 rib).

Measure out enough ribbon to go around the cowl and then some to make the bow and tails.  As it is a gift I cut more ribbon that is needed.

My gauge: 15 rows and 12 stitches equal 4” by 4”.  As it is ribbing and the ribbon is there for adjustment, unless you are wildly off gauge it does not matter.

VirgKnits94

More lace

As I said before I am always bitten by the lace bug, I am now working on more than 4 lace shawl patterns, it has grown to 8.  Ideas always come in feast or famine quantities, never one or two at a time.  Of the 4 new patterns 2 are knit with Mini Mochi, 1 with Chroma (fingering) and 1 with Malabrigo lace.

A few new toys, one Victorian and two Russian style spindles.  The Russian spindles are the best for spinning my dog's fur.  His is the white mohair looking yarn on the spindle.

Not much other fiber stuff going on right now!

Newsletter!

Today seemed like mostly a normal day and when I came home from work I did my normal tasks, take out the dog, check e-mail...  Today was no longer ordinary!  I had more new email than I thought, and to my surprise I saw that my shawl was featured in the Crystal Palace newsletter!  Hooray!
Crystal Palace Newsletter

My Pattern is named Secret Shawl and is under the heading Indie News!

Finally finished!

I finally finished a shawl that I had been working on for months!  Of course it should not have taken that long but life got in the way of knitting.

It is knit in Mini Mochi yarn (Crystal Palace) and was inspired by the character Anne Elliot from the Jane Austen novel Persuasion.  As I am forever bitten by the lace bug I have already picked up another unfinished lace shawl pattern that I am in the middle of writing and intend to knit that out.  Unfortunately I have 4 more after that I need to complete.

Finally! I finally figured out how to add a picture.  That is a picture of my dog and the yarn so far.  Hopefully I can have at least 2 balls of yarn done soon and then it will be time to ply the yarn.  I will post again when after plying.  Have a great day!