emily k(nits, watches, and writes)

So today I was poking around on Knit Picks, checking out their super amazing new accessories. I mean, those blocking pads? So awesome. Immediately added to cart. I also threw in some blocking pins, yarn to make more TARDIS iPod cozies, and a few other goodies. Then I remembered that my mom was looking for an indoor/decorative scarf so I sent her an email to see what kind of scarf she wanted and what color. She seemed to like the Lace Ribbon scarf and so I linked her to some of the fingering weight yarns on KP. I said, hey, I’m throwing together an order, so just let me know what you prefer and I’ll add it. Then she says:

Thanks. Before you put in your order…..I will pay for the materials….including your order (since I cannot buy you chocolate bunnys for Easter..etc…) I will give you a credit card number to use. Don’t go over $100 for all. Let me know.

Mom

The knitting daughter’s dream come true. She is seriously so awesome. Mom <3! As my plurk buds have pointed out, “Yarn will get you much further than chocolate bunnys”! So true. Happy dance!

You know, it’s Spring Break this week at UT-Austin. I should get out and do something, especially when it’s in the 80ºs outside and sunny as all get-out. But I just learned how to spin and I want to practice while I have the chance to. So I went over to Hill Country Weavers and set up shop in Knit Buzz. There are six wheels in there free to use, so I spent six hours today with a Louët Julia (which I am in love with).

I spent the first two hours spinning up the roving I get during Spinning 101, and then decided to branch out and trying something new. I went over to the shop and picked up 4 ounces of a merino/silk blend. It was tricky at first to get it started because it was so smooth! I had to use some scrap roving to get it started, and then I joined the merino/silk blend to the wool roving.

Pomegranate

The colorway of the roving was labeled “Pomegranate” so that’s what I’ll stick with. I tried to get a thin yarn out of it, so I really focused on a fine and tight twist. I may have put in too much twist, but that’s something I’ll get better at with time I think. It gives anywhere from 15 to 20 wraps per inch, which puts it somewhere around sport weight or fingering weight. I skeined it, washed it, and hung it outside to dry. I’ll take some skein pictures once it’s dried up. The color above is a bit off; hopefully some pictures of it dry will be more color accurate.

Now I’m on a hunt for a good deal on a wheel. I’m looking mostly for a Louët, because I’ve worked on three different Louët wheels (Julia, Victoria, and an S10) and I loved them all. Particularly the Julia, but there is no way I’ll ever have $750 to drop on a wheel. I don’t even have $300 to drop on a wheel. If I sell off my video game stuff (which I’ve been contemplating anyway) I might be able to afford a wheel. We’ll see what happens.

This weekend I took the Spinning 101 class at Hill Country Weavers. I now know how to spin. Check it out!

yarn spun on a drop spindle

my second attempt with a drop spindle

After the first class I borrowed a drop spindle and worked at home. I really wanted to spend time working on my drafting, and after about three hours I finally got a good hang of it. Turns out I wasn’t preparing my roving well enough before I started spinning it up.

first attempt with a drop spindle

If you can tell from this picture of my first spinning attempt, this yarn isn’t drafted as well and has big chunks in it.

first attempt on a wheel

This is what I got after spending two hours with a spinning wheel. LOVED IT. I really want one now. This is bad.

close up of wheel-spun yarn

I think you can see in this shot that the thickness of the yarn is a bit more consistent. There are still chunks in there, but it’s not nearly as bad as before.

color carding

After lunch on Day 2 we played around with color carding. The teacher had me spin up her examples, and I did a few of my own. Very very fun.

variegated yarn

I spent the last hour or so spinning up my own concoction … it’s a striping/variegated yarn with dark red, pink, blue, purple, and mint green. I’m trying to figure out something to knit up with it.

I now love spinning and really want my own wheel. I’ve been eying a few on eBay; I really want a Louët. I used the Louët Victoria in class today, though that is way out of my price range. I like the modern look of the Louët wheels a whole lot. We’ll see what happens. For now I’ll just go over to HCW and use the wheels that they have set up at Knit Buzz.

… and it’s not friends, it’s things.

The entire swap package!

Hand-made stitch markers!

Hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn

Vegan nomnoms!

A hand-made TARDIS wallet!

Check out the fabric on the inside!

Talk about a PERFECT swap package! Thank you so much, KnittingHooker! You rock my world!

I’ve decided to dabble in dyeing (not dying). I had one of those giant skeins of Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool and decided to screw around with it. Here’s what I got:

yellow hand dyed wool

The above is approximately 110 yards dyed with two packets of lemonade Kool-Aid in the microwave. I decided I don’t like the microwave method very much. More on that in a moment.

creamy/tan hand dyed wool

This is another 100 yards or so of the wool dyed in a pot with some tea. The color could have been better, but I didn’t pre-soak the yarn. I know better now.

red hand dyed wool

This one turned out absolute fantastic! I pre-soaked the wool, about 220 yards worth, in lukewarm water and some Eucalan no rinse delicate wash. Then I stuck it in a pot of almost-boiled water with 10 packets of black cherry Kool-Aid and let it chill overnight. The color turned out really vibrant and I can’t wait to do something with this!

I definitely like the stove-top method. I’m about to re-dye that yellow yarn with some turmeric and vinegar. I’m excited to see how this turns out!