BananaKnits.com

Found just the perfect addition to my new shawl.

2012-01-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

The accessories are so very important a button poorly chosen can make a piece "wonderful" or "why did you choose that?" or even "fugly". I'm always on the hunt for good buttons and good closures and last year I found this wonderful "Closure" by Jul Designs.

I've tried it on different shawls a few times but it did not have the right fit, it's kind of heavy and makes a strong statement. I did not want the closure to take over the shawl. I knew I loved it but did not know how or where to use it. So I put it in a very special spot and forgot about it. All this searching I've been doing looking for things I rediscovered the closure and it's perfect for my "Stash Buster Square Shawl".

Finished Ready to Wear.

$300 dollar socks?

2012-01-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

I confess most of the time when I visit blogs I really only look at the pictures. If something catches my eye I may read a few paragraphs. I try and post lots of pictures in this blog because I really don't think people read the stuff I write. Only look at the pictures and maybe read a head line or two.

I sometimes amuse myself with some blogs, a couple of my favorites are the "The Panopticon" by Franklin Habit and of course the Yarnharlot by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Both are funny and good writers and great knitters. I was just reading Franklin's latest blog post reminds me of that always puzzling question: "You should sell your knitting" or "If I pay you can you make me one?"

I never know quite what to say either. I usually say that I don't sell my work I only give it away to someone who is a "knit appreciator". Stephanie wrote about "knit appreciators" people who really appreciate the amount of work that went into this garment and the expense of the fiber etc. Like Franklin says below, a pair of socks hand knit $300 dollars. So if I knit a pair of socks for someone they really need to appreciate it.

I kind of know that when people who do not knit are complimenting me when they suggest that I sell my stuff but.......

Franklin's answers:

"I don't sell my work" sounds snotty (even if you don't mean to be).
"You couldn't afford it" sounds presumptuous (because it is).
"For a pair of socks like this, at least three hundred bucks" will bring a gasp of disbelief followed by a minor cardiac event. And once the paramedics have left and the spilled drink is mopped up, you have to talk to the innocent victim about fair trade, and the rights of artisans to earn a living wage, and the number of stitches in a sock, and Wal-Mart, and how actually, no, good yarn doesn't cost about a buck a ball.

So far so good

2012-01-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

The eat less part is "iffy" but I did not buy anything! (Groceries don't count!) So far so good for my "new years resolution". I heard on the radio that today was the day that people stop doing their new years resolutions. I'm going to write it and tape it on my mirror to remind myself.

Thank goodness I'm not looking for anything at the moment and am very careful to put things in some sort of order so I can find it when I need it. Like my car keys and my purse etc.

Here is a project I'm almost finished with. The "Stash Buster Square Shawl" has turned out well. Originally I was just going to make a little swatch for an example for my upcoming class I'm teaching. Then I just fell in love with it and kept on knitting. My new most favorite project, but I'm fickle.

The edge did not look great and I did not want to sew in all the ends so I solved the problem by sewing a felted edge to give it a finished look. The felted scarf that I cut up and sacrificed happened to be the perfect color match and I have lots of scarfs so I won't miss it.

"Design Your Own Shawl" will be the class.

Buy Less and Eat Less.

2012-01-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

I swear I spend half of my life looking for things. I can't remember where I put anything, then I get obsessed with finding it. I know sooner or later it will turn up but I want it now!

I started this sweater last winter and then the weather turned hot so I had to put it down. Knitting a large project resting in my lap made of wool can get uncomfortable when the weather is warm. This is a winter project, although we are pushing 80 degrees here in L.A. but it's a winter 80 so not the same. I need a nice warm wool sweater in case it does get cold so I wanted to finish this project.

It was 80% complete so I set out over the holidays to finish this sweater. Showed my husband and he really liked it and somehow took interest in the project. He would ask me how I was progressing almost daily. Besides feeling like "leave me alone" this is my hobby what do you care, I would give him an update. Sort of like I just have the sleeves to complete then I'm done. Or I made a huge mistake and I'm frogging the sleeves and starting over.

Then I ran out of the red yarn, but I know I had extra skeins of this but where did I stash it? I somehow have collected yarn, not just a couple of bins but many. What was I thinking? Will there be a shortage of yarn? Before you laugh too much about this I am a product of my childhood. We did run out of yarn, there was a war and nice wool was really hard to come by. I know the world is different now intellectually but somehow there is a residual and one never forgets.

Now for my New Years resolution: Buy less and Eat Less in 2012

On the needles

2012-01-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

Sort of like "mindless" knitting. It started out as a little swatch for my upcoming class on design your own shawl class. But I just liked what was developing so I kept on knitting. This is a great project for a "stash buster". For all those little balls of yarn you have left over and don't know what to do with.

When I first started spinning I was not sure how much yarn I would get out of maybe 2 or 3 ounces of fiber. Then making it a 2 ply I would end up with these small amounts of wonderful yarn but did not know what to make.

Here is one solution:

Just as I suspected.

2012-01-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Rose Parade was just not as exciting as it would have been if it was held on January 1st. I'm just saying and having a bit of a rant. I have since found out why, which this enquiring mind wanted to know. Because if the 1st falls on a Sunday it is not held so the good people could go to church and not be distracted with the parade. "Never on Sunday" protocol was instituted in 1893! I think it's time to change this policy! (If I ruled the world this would certainly change!) I want the Rose Parade on January 1st rain or shine. Of course we all know that it NEVER rains on the Rose Parade so that is why I would put in rain or shine.

According to one of the articles I read

sort of to do with religion, but perhaps not in the way you might first think. It's all very practical and logistical: The policy was put in place"to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches and thus interfering with worship services." And, to ensure there's no competition with the National Football League, the Rose Bowl game is also held over to January 2.

I have no idea how the parade looked because I did not watch it. Maybe this would be a good year to go down and look at the floats in person. After the parade they usually display the floats and I've always wanted to go see them and never got around to it. This is sort of on my "bucket list" along with going to get tickets one year and actually go to the Rose Parade. I figure by Wednesday everybody would have gone back to work and too busy to go look at floats so it would not be as crowded. Will let you know how it goes.

Happy New Year....

2012-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

New Years Day is just not the same without the Rose Parade. Just pretend that they are saying 2012 and 123rd Rose Parade. We all know that once you've seen one you've seen it but it's somehow very comforting and lovely to watch.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

Thoughts about Classes I want to teach.

2011-12-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

First let me say that I love to teach. When I'm passionate about something I love to share what I've discovered and how it's done. I do not have formal teaching credentials but I have teaching experience.

When my son was in elementary school, I helped organize the "computer lab" for the school. Computers were new at that time and most of the teachers were either "scared" of the machine or simply did not have the time or desire to venture into this new media. I have always liked gadgets and love to type so when computers first came into my focus I wanted one. I was lucky enough to get a Macintosh 128k, which is the first Mac Apple put out.

This started my teaching elementary school children. The old how hard could this be? As long as I was one step ahead of the kids I'll be ok. Well it was a crash course in teaching which is no easy feat. Especially in this day and age of Sesame Street and all the other visual and audio stimulation kids get.

It ended up that I taught for 6 years and finally had experience in every grade level. Since then there has been several different subjects I've taught but currently fiber is my passion and I am gearing up to teach a class at my local yarn store. The class will be "Design Your Own Shawl"

I have some of the material semi organized and I kind of have an idea of what and how I want to teach this. So I sat down typing out the lesson and designing some of the graphics of the shawl shapes etc. Then I needed to describe the class in an interesting way so people who do not know me would want to take this class from just reading this clever dazzling description.

Let's see maybe other's have taught this class before and I wanted to see how they described their classes. I googled "design your own shawl". And this was the first hit:

http://bananaknits.blogspot.com/2010/09/design-your-own-shawl.html

But this is exactly why I blog so I can keep track of what I'm knitting and how I go about it. Otherwise if I want to repeat anything I have to "reverse engineer" it. I made this little shawl over a year ago and forgot all about this blog entry. Here we go I will now expand on what I said in that YouTube video because I've now made about ten of those little shawls. Experimenting with dying different color ways, spinning the fibers different ways and then putting together a shawl. Almost all of them with this basic recipe that I describe in the YouTube video.

But most people do not read my blog but just look at the pictures so here are some pictures of the shawls....

This off white natural wool I want to paint, but that is another class I'll be putting together.

The store I will be teaching at is my favorite store in Los Angeles Twist Yarns of Intigue. Time and date will be announced.

One of my favorite things to do is to dye!

2011-12-16T06:25:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine called me yesterday and asked what I was doing? I said I was dyeing! To which she answered I'm sorry honey what's the matter? No I said it's wonderful I love to dye! Wrong spelling I'm just playing with wool. Happy to see the instant gratification, being able to create just exactly the color that I want.

This is one of the benefits and perhaps one of the main reasons I started spinning my own yarn. Being able to dye any color and spin any weight just added a whole new dimension to the process. Often I would have an idea for a project but would have to search around for just that exact color, weight and fiber that I had in mind. Sometimes it would take me a couple of years to locate just the right material for the project I had in mind.

I would walk into a yarn store and at first glance it looked like a huge array of yarns. Wool, silk, mohair some man made materials in all hues imaginable. But just not the the brownish sport weight soft wool that I was looking for. Well now I can do just that! For example I have this brown outfit that I love and it fits and looks halfway decent on me but I wanted a little shawl for the cooler days. For the summer I made a cotton moebius that I beaded on the edges.

Perfect, very happy for summer but for winter I wanted something made out of wool and a bit warmer. But to find just that color and just that weight & texture was a hunt. Not any more! I have added new skills and am able to dye the wool the colors I want and spin it to the exact weight I like. In this case I was looking for "sport" weight which is a kind of difficult find in yarn stores.

When I first pulled this roving out of the dye pot it really looked like a hot mess but to my surprise the colors are blending nicely and it's knitting up lovely. Fun Fun Fun.

*BTW I'm not too keen on "matchy, matchy" but I do like harmony and colors that like each other.

**Of course I write this blog for my own amusement but once in a while I do hear remarks about what I write. I do enjoy keeping track of my projects and feedback once in a while.

My hand hurts!

2011-12-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Darn it why do we have to get old and worn out? My poor thumb has too many miles on it. So I am limited in which craft I can work on. Knitting not so good, spinning not so good, chrochet maybe, plying yarn maybe and beading ok. Curious how I can crochet but not knit and I can sew but not spin. Different muscles used. So this is what I made.....

Brown Beaded Bowl

Used some of my handspun not so soft "shetland" wool, which is perfect for this job. Then I used glass beads around the edges. Turned out nice, I may even keep this or maybe not Christmas is so close it may be a present for a friend.

Some days you're hot and some days you're not!

2011-11-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

There are days when things just fall into place like a dream but then there are days when I just can't do anything right. I'm sure everyone is like this but it's so terribly frustrating when you do not have any control over it. It could be the moon or the stars or the energy in the air or who the heck knows what but it is what it is.

I've been dying wool and lately next to spinning wool my other most favorite thing to do is to dye wool. Today is not a good color day! I don't even feel like taking any pictures of the awful colors I am putting together. Why am I choosing these awful colors? I'm trying but the brown is "shi....ttie" the purple is "spottie" none of the colors like each other and I don't like any of them at all. Best pack it up and leave it for another day.

Part of what fascinates me is the transformation that takes place from what the color looks like in the un-spun fiber to the spun fiber. Then another transformation occurs when two single strands are plied together. And then another change occurs when knitted.

Here is a success story: "Swirly Dickey"

How much yarn will 4 oz of roving make?

2011-10-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

This is the number one question I get asked about spinning from non-spinners. And I may add it was my number one question also before I had some experience with this spinning thing. I bought 4 oz of fiber at NW Handspun Yarns in Bellingham, WA. A wonderful yarn store owned by my friend Meg Jobe. Meg has a great collection of spinning & knitting supplies and is very knowledgeable about spinning and fibers. I loved the shop and sat upstairs knitting with some good friends.

But how much yarn will 4 oz of fiber yield?

I would say it's a DK weight two ply that I am most comfortable spinning and it yielded 285 yards of yarn. Now to decide what to make? I will probably use it as an accent color because it has some wonderful shiny stuff in it.

Fiber Retreat

2011-10-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Leslie and I went on a road trip here are some pictures of our fiber & food adventures. We did not buy anything because the prices in Canada were sky hi but we dazzled our eyes with all the pretty.

The view from our hotel! Spectacular! Thank you Leslie, it was a great choice. We checked in with all our luggage (we do not travel light). There is a lot of paraphernalia involved with knitting and spinning. The projects the needles the spinning wheels the fiber etc. Usually packing my clothes is not a problem but figuring out what project to take on the road gets to be involved.

I need a small project to knit while waiting at the airport and on the airplane and of course a back up project. Yes the back up project in case I get tired of the one I chose or something happens to it. Ok I admit it I'm a bit obsessed with all this but bear with me. Then the spinning wheel, what bag to put it in what fiber to spin and all the wires, batteries etc. It was no small feat getting all this stuff through security. But I made it and by the way my Zuca bag I chose was just perfect for this, it actually fit in the over head and I had a place to sit while waiting at the airport.

We visited two yarn stores: "Knotty by Nature" ~Fibre Arts~ and "The Beehive Wool Shop" both very nice but expensive.

After feeling up all this wool we got hungry and went across the street to a Korean restaurant and the food was delicious. Then a stroll through China town, after which back to the hotel with some spinning relaxation.

Victoria, BC Canada

As time permits I will post more (maybe).

Whirling like a Dervish Dancer

2011-09-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

It was my son's birthday and I decided to buy him a new telephone, because his old phone met an unfortunate death. I wanted to surprise him so I went to the AT&T store as painful as that is but after all it's my boy and it's his birthday. I looked around and now it was time to take a look at my family account.

Can I see a photo id? Says the young lady who was helping me. Sure I say I got lots of those right here, oh my God my id pouch is missing! My heart sinks, WHAT? WHERE COULD IT BE? OMG. What do I do? Where do I look. Do I just call the credit card company right now? I can't remember when I used it last? Did I change wallets and forgot? No it's the same wallet.....

Excuse me young lady I got to go now. I ran to my car and high tailed it back to the house arriving slightly crazed. I ran in the house and started looking and throwing things my somewhat neat desk with piles of paper here and there are being tossed around like a salad. I am in a total panic. At which point my husband walks in and asks what I'm doing.

NOTHING! I say. Oh you are up to something you look like a Dervish Dancer.

NOTHING! I say again.

Then I finally figure that I will have to tell him this dilemma sooner or later so I confess and tell him that I have misplaced (surely not lost) my driver's license, my credit card and several other important cards from my wallet. To which he answers me with "Where did you have it last?"

WHERE DID I HAVE IT LAST? If I knew where I had it last it would not be lost!

"Let me see your wallet"

WHAT FOR? TO SEE IT EMPTY?

I realize that he is just trying to help but this is not helping. By now I am beyond upset, I am quite ready to have a total melt down.

Then I spot this little pouch on a love seat in the dining room. I sometimes throw my purse there or a sweater I've taken off and not put away etc. And slowly it's coming back to me now. I went on a bike ride and my husband insisted that I take my id with me. I had a business card with emergency info on it and a couple of dollars but he insisted that I had all my id with me. Ok I did and then I forgot.

What a relief to find my id. by then I was totally exhausted and put myself to bed. Never mind that it was only 7 pm. But all is well that ends well.

Twins or Cousins?

2011-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

They are not identical twins that I know! First I thought I would strive for fraternal twins but maybe they turned out to be just cousins. You see I was using up small little balls of yarn for a class I took up at the Sock Summit.

The class was

Knitted Tessellation: Playful and Powerful Patterns in Practice

The teacher: Franklin Habit

When I first read the class description it sounded really exciting and it was a great class. I loved Franklin and he was organized and well informed. Over all a good class.

A hands-on introduction to the creation of tessellations: motifs that interlock without gaps or overlaps. Tessellations are as old and pervasive as design itself; they can be found in some of the most ancient examples of human craft, and were famously used in the modern era by the artist M.C. Escher. In this class, we will discuss the theories behind tessellating, and put into practice the basic techniques for creating tessellated patterns in hand-knitted fabrics.

There was homework:


Yarn: Sock- or fingering-weight yarns in solid or semi-solid colors. Two balls in highly contrasting colors if you wish to work in stranded colorwork; one ball if you choose to work in knit/purl texture patterns. (If the latter, white or a light solid color is preferred.) Needles: Any size appropriate to the yarn(s) selected–either double-pointed or circular according to your sock knitting preference. Notions: Stitch markers (8), scissors, notebook, pencils (not pens) and erasers for sketching and charting.
Homework:
Using the sock knitting method of your choice, CO 64 stitches (using main color, if you choose to knit your class project in stranded colorwork) and work in k2, p2 ribbing for 1.5 inches. Do not cast off. And get a good night’s sleep.

Because I'm a good student I did as I was instructed and knit 64 stitch rib for 1.5".

When I got home I decided that I liked the idea and maybe had enough yarn to finish a sock. I had a tiny ball of Koigu and a tiny ball of hand spun that I did in Judith McKenzie's class the day before.

The Gentle Art of Spinning Socks
The only thing better than a handknit sock is one made from your own handspun. This class is all about spinning a sock yarn that will make a pair of socks that will last longer than it took to spin and knit them. It will help you decide what type of fiber to choose, how to prepare it, and how to spin it to make radiantly beautiful socks that will be a pleasure to make and a joy to wear.

After I completed the first sock I really liked how it looked so I reverse engineered it so it's kind of similar but not quite the identical twin.

Update on my Zuca Bag Research

2011-08-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

(BTW the "miniSpinner" is a Hansen electric Spinning Wheel)

You can't say that I'm making this decision lightly. Now that I went down this road I had to turn every corner. Here is what I have figured out. The main difference besides the approximately $100 difference between the Zuca Sport and the Zuca Pro is the width and height. Not in the size of the actual bag but the way the wheels are positioned on the Zuca Sport it makes that bag almost 4" wider. The actual bag is almost the same size. The Zuca Pro has the wheels built in therefore making the Pro narrower so it fits in the overhead and rolls down the aisle easily.

Zuca Sport on the left and Zuca Pro on the right.

I was at my Spinning Guild meeting last Saturday and was lucky enough to spot two Zuca Bags. One of the members had a Zuca Sport and the other was a Zuca Pro! Perfect! I rolled them next to each other and compared in person.

Just to "muddy the waters" I do have one more addition, I just found out that there is a Zuca Pro Artist! The Zuca Pro "Artist" has vinyl inserts and the Zuca Pro has mesh inserts!

There! I have decided to buy a Zuca Pro with mesh inserts in the "Dusty Rose" color. Just because it's on sale and is a $100 dollar cheaper right now.

ps. I've decided to sell my Pocket Wheel if you know anybody who wants a Pocket Wheel let me know (there is a long waiting list for them)

Always happens for a good reason...

2011-08-16T08:56:00.001-07:00

Even though at the time it was very annoying. I was walking around at the market place during a break at the Sock Summit admiring all the goodies. My yarn and fiber stash is overflowing so I'm trying not to buy too much in that department but tools and bags and jewelry is always tempting. The best part of these collective market places is seeing all sorts of things that I may not see at any of my Local Yarn Stores.

Because I travel several times a year and have always been.... well ok I'll admit it I am a luggage junkie. Packing is fun and trying to get just the right bag for the occasion is part of the fun of traveling. I like to have a rolling carry on and have had one for years and it's starting to show it's age. Even though my Dear Husband reinforced it very cleverly, it's starting to be not the ideal rolling bag. It has a lot of miles on it and it has served me well but all good things must come to an end. I am shopping for a replacement.

After looking at many options I've decided that a Zuca bag will be the next rolling carry on I want to get. There are many many reasons this bag is kind of amazing and part of it is that you can roll it around and sit on it. You know all those lines you have to wait in and sometimes there is no seating available etc. So as I was walking around at the market place I see that Morgain from Carolina Home Spun has several Zuca bags. She had them for a reasonable price and had several colors to choose from. No shipping or taxes I thought it would be good deal to buy one in person.

When I first started to shop around for this Zuca bag I came to realize that it was not so simple. There were models and colors to choose from. I mean lots of colors and patterns.... it turns out that the bag was designed for kids with sport activities ie. ice skaters etc. That is the reason they have all the colors like hot pink frame with Pink Dots & Hot Pink Reversible inserts. Oh my the colors.... I was very happy to see some of these bags in person but I kind of would like to have a bag that does not stand out like a loud sore thumb. I kind of would like to have some sort of dark color with a darkish insert.

As I was admiring all the frames and picked out a black frame and there was several choices of inserts. One of them was a black insert but it had rhine stones and kind of a tacky buckle. I was trying to decide weather I could replace this buckle or could I live with it. As I was deciding another woman showed up and she started giving her opinion on which one I should get. Often this happens when shopping people are friendly and will give their opinions freely.

Which one should I get I said? The black bag or this brown one? I put the black one on the chair and held up the brown one. Just at that moment when I took my hand off the black bag this woman picks it up and says I'll take it with the black frame. Those were the only black bag Morgain had so I would have to choose bright pink or polka dot something.

I can't believe what she just did, I'm looking at this I say! She tells me oh well "You snooze you loose".

She paid and took off in minutes and left me standing there in disbelief! WTF?

I don't want a pink bag with little pink flowers! So I walked away empty handed. When I told this story to my friend Angela she tells me that there are two different styles, one is called the Zuca sport and the one you want is the Zuca Pro!

Well you see I would have bought the wrong bag. The Zuca Sport is for sporty kids and is wider and has different dimensions than the Zuca Pro. The Zuca Pro is designed to fit in the overhead and roll down the aisles of the airplane the Zuca Sport is wider and will not roll down the aisle as easily or fit in the overhead. The Zuca Pro has No flashing wheels nicer colors and yes a bit more expensive but it's a sturdy aluminum alloy frame which is super strong and would support 300 pounds. I've made up my mind this bag should last for quite a few trips to come.

Developed for the seasoned road warrior, the ZÜCA Pro is a PATENTED new concept in travel that protects your valuable gear and provides a place to sit. You can also use the seat as a platform for carrying additional gear. Measuring 19" x 13" x 10" the Pro fits in the overhead compartment of standard commercial aircraft from 737's up. Easily roll down narrow aircraft aisles with an adult friendly 41 1/2" telescoping ergonomic handle. The ZÜCA Pro is protected by a limited LIFETIME WARRANTY, see details. With the ZÜCA Pro, you will always have the best seat in the house.

I call it "Clever Kate"

2011-08-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

It functions as a Lazy Kate but I prefer to call it the "Clever Kate". It's the MacGyver version of building your own Lazy Kate to wind your bobbins.

Materials you will need are: A $1.00 basket from the bargain bin a couple of rubber bands and a set or two of size 9 knitting needles.

It works like a charm.

A Birthday gift

2011-08-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

My DH surprised me with this gift he made. He even rummaged through my knitting bags and picked out two little canvas bags I had to house this gift.

We call it Lazy Ana. More commonly known in the spinning world as Lazy Kate and I have no idea why Kate was Lazy. It seems to me that Kate was very clever how else can you ply several strands of single yarn strands together?

He it is and I LOVE it.

Sheep to Shawl

2011-08-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is my one year anniversary of being a "spinner". My Ashford Joy spinning wheel is one year old. Because my DH bought me this great gift last year for my birthday I've decided to celebrate the spinning anniversary rather than how many years I've lived on this earth.

My attempt to a "sheep to shawl" is kind of sort of almost there but I have a lot to learn. This does not stop me, I am just plowing on and knitting a shawl from the Dorset fleece I got from Escondido. As I wrote about last April: "Flirting with Skirting".

The wool is "Dorset" from the Escondido Wool Festival this last spring. I do not think it's ideal for a shawl but that is what I decided to knit. I was going to make socks but then I would have to dye it because the last time I knit a light colored pair of socks they got very dirty and washing did not seem to clean them. So socks is out because I do not want to dye this wool, I want to leave it with the least processing as possible. Don't know why but that is what I decided to do and it's my hobby and I can do what ever I feel like with it.

More combing and spinning then of course knitting, I will post my progress.

Dyeing experiment.

2011-08-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

I'm calling this color-way "Annette" because my friend Annette gave me some dye and I decided to try this experiment. I did not feel like making a big production out of dyeing so I just filled this dedicated dye pot with water and showed this roving in.

I had about 8oz of this wool mixed with this odd brown stripe. I'm not sure where I got this but I've had it for a while and did not particularly like this odd combination. I knew that sooner or later I would dye it.

I added dye a squirt of this and and squirt of that then closed the lid and simmered for 15 minutes. Let it cool off and rinsed. After I put it out to dry I was indeed surprised at the wonderful colors it turned out.

I'm not sure what I will make out of this wool but I guess I'll have to see how much yardage it will yield after I spin and ply it. I'm spinning it "woolen" so I'm told, woolen vs. "worsted" is the diameter and the "luftiness" between the fibers. I'm still a new spinner so I have my default draft and it makes a nice 2 ply yarn between sock yarn and dk weight.

I prefer to knit with smaller needles so I can't spin a thick yarn. Smaller needles just seem to fit my hand better. I will post the progress of this project one of many I have floating around.

I'm adopting a virtual pet: Meet Lucy Two

2011-08-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Been so busy -- Sock Summit 2011

2011-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

I have not posted for a while simply because I've been so very busy. I went to Portland, Oregon to the second Sock Summit. I had such a magical time two years ago I just had to go again. This time it was great even though not quite the same as last time but a wonderful time was had by all.

On the way home my son picked me up at the airport and as he was driving he asked what I did up there? I answered: "I was in a flash mob"

Son: Flash Mob mom? Really?

Me: Yup a flash mob!

Son: Did you and five of your friends get together and jump up and down and called it a flash mob?

Me: That is not a bad idea but no honey me and 600 of my fellow sock knitters got together and jumped up and down.

Son: Oh NO

Me: Oh Yes and I have pictures!

Took some classes with Judith McKenzie and Franklin Habit. Both teachers were great and I learned a couple of new tricks, totally enjoyed each class I took. Spinning with Judith is truly magical, she is so relaxed and so full of knowledge that I could just sit and hang out with her for hours on end. Franklin was very organized and was well prepared with nice hand outs and samples. In my opinion that is important if you are paying money for a class the teacher best be prepared. The knitters are a tough and opinionated bunch.

Lots of "window" shopping at the market place. I did not buy much but really enjoyed looking at all the wonderful wares and chit chatting with the vendors.

Then there was the Fleece to Foot race, a bit silly but fun to watch. Yes they actually brought in sheep to shear and then spun the wool and knit the sock.

Probably much more but this is all I can think of to share with you. Clara Parkes did a wonderful job of writing about details of the Sock Summit read it here.

Lost in the Land of Beads

2011-06-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated this blog and I have been busy. As I was sharing in my previous post about my back pain and it lasted longer than I thought. While I was sitting in the "Lazy Boy" chair which was the only place I could find some relief bored and not able to knit I had some beads near by and some yarn. I decided that maybe I could just string beads and maybe crochet something. Crocheting is a different movement than knitting.

I happen to have a ball of Noro Sock Yarn and 6 /0= 4.0mm ("e" beads) that I could reach. Slowly one by one I started to string the beads on to the yarn. Then I started to crochet chain one bring one bead down and the next thing I knew I had a bracelet. And so started the slippery slope or black rabbit hole of beading.

This necklace I call the "4th of July" for obvious reasons (next weekend is the 4th of July holiday). What I did here is crocheted around and existing leather necklace with a hook and chain fastener. Then I started to add beads, lots of lots of beads. Oh my who knew I loved doing this and am very pleased with the outcome.

Here is a video I watched and was inspired by:

Seed beads I love seed beads, I need more seed beads. My friend Brenda sent me a list of shops down town Los Angeles, now when to get the time to go.

Here are some of the shops that I like to go to, for beads:

1.) Athenian Fashions Main Store
820 S Maple St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 623-1289
Athenian Fashions Annex Store
416 E. 8^th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-489-2237

2.) Bohemian Crystal/The Bead Factory
810 & 812 So Maple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-627-9553
(This is the place with the big bags of seed beads)

3. Beads & More
800 So. Maple Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-955-9000

4.) Shenoute
813 Maple Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90014
323-305-7051

5.) Berger Beads
Berger Specialty Co. Inc.
413 E. 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Phone: (213) 627-8783

FYI

(I often put up information so if I need to access this stuff I can search my blog and it may help some of my friends to access the information I gather.)

Seed beads sizes are stated in aughts, (not millimeters) ~ as strung beads per 20 mm or 3/4 inch length.
The higher the number, the smaller the bead.

Conversions from aughts to millimeters, large to small:

1 /0= 6.5mm
2 /0= 6.0mm
3 /0= 5.5mm (pony beads, crow, roller)
4 /0= 5.0mm
5 /0= 4.5mm
6 /0= 4.0mm (popular "e" bead)
7 /0= 3.4mm
8 /0= 3.1mm
9 /0= 2.7mm
10 /0= 2.3mm
11 /0= 2.1mm
12 /0= 1.9mm
13 /0= 1.7mm
14 /0= 1.6mm
15 /0= 1.5mm
16 /0= 1.3mm
17 /0= 1.2mm
18 /0=1.1mm
20 /0=1.0mm

3/0 beads would be 4 per inch,
about 1/4 inch thick each.
(Crow rollers, pony beads)

6/0 beads would be about 8 per inch,
or 1/8 inch thick each.
(The popular "e" bead)

15/0 beads would be 18 per inch,
1/18 inch thick each. (Tiny)

Just remember, the higher the number, the smaller the bead!

How to slow down my knitting

2011-06-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Slow it way way down..... actually I've been in so much back pain that I could not even knit! My dear husband remarked "You must really be sick you are not even knitting". I was doing some yard work and pulling some weeds, cutting some bamboo and actually having a great time out in the yard. The weather was great I was full of energy and Lucy by my side helping me dig we had a terrific time. This is the "growing" season for my Hawaiian Golden Bamboo and as you might guess it's growing like crazy. I love the way it looks and it serves a a natural "high" fence. The next day I was flat on my back and could not move from the pain.

Oh why did I do that? Oh it was not worth it! I'm never doing that again! Now I just have to wait to get better. It's a slow process but I am on the mend.

Soon I'll update my progress on my latest project the "Red Neck" sweater.

Learning New Things & Relaxing

2011-05-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

I went on a retreat over the weekend and had a wonderful time. I feel I learned so much, the ladies were so very generous with their knowledge and willing to show me how they use tools and different techniques to get the job done.

I learned how to "dry color blend fiber" with a drum carder. Wendy was a great teacher and seemed to be full of tips and tricks and fiber knowledge. Thank you Wendy.

I learned how to make "rolags" from Suzanne.

How to "space dye" with beautiful colors, love the results. I'll be knitting a small shawl because I only have 270 yds.

How to double knit? Iffy for our climate here in Southern California but kind of fascinating. Ok I already knew how to do this but still it was fun.

How to make spiral beaded necklace, now that was really fun. I've been wanting to learn beading for a while now. Another black hole to jump down.

How to core spin, I'll have to figure out what that could be used for but endless possibilities.

And a ton more information about natural dying and most of all made some new friends.

I purchased a pair of Schacht combs

The vender was Weaver's Cupboard,

Gail M. Marlow-Kickey (one of the organizers)

8287 Calle del Prado

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

I found this video on how to use these. There are two different kinds that I saw, one set was narrower and wider with finer "teeth". The other the one is for wool and is shorter and the teeth courser.

When one of the ladies showed me how to make "rollags" the key was to pet like you would a kitten as opposed to a vigorous dog petting style that I'm more inclined to do. Practice will be needed to learn this skill.

Progress..... I'm knitting as fast as I can....

2011-04-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

The current project I'm focusing on is coming along and starting to take shape. I hope to get it finished for Mother's day which is in one week. I think I'll make it. Hope the weather warms up so I can wear it.

Zipper installation

2011-04-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

I'm updating this post because I just found this by "splityarn"

"esiest knitted sweater zipper install ever"

The title alone made me take a look and she may be right!

And she says "Hold on while I blow your mind at the simplicity"

She uses Blocking Wires! That I think is brilliant and will probably work best! I will have to try this method so I am updating this post for when I am ready to install a zipper to my sweater.

Here are some other methods that I thought were useful:

This method is somewhat useful because of the double sided tape use, instead of using pins to baste the zipper. I like to sew the zippers by hand, baste it first with a highly contrasting color thread and a matching thread to sew the final seam. When choosing a thread to match your knitting and if there is a choice of colors always pick the darker color.

I find a lot of people do not like to sew and if they can use the sewing machine the better. For me my knit projects do not like to be machine sewn. If a sewing machine is used I have to be extremely careful and go very slowly. Hand sewing is gentler and easier for me besides I don't have to drag out the sewing machine the plug etc.

I like the idea of the double sided tape. They are using "Wonder Tape" . I wonder what will happen when washed? Yes I know they say to only use it on hand washed items not to be thrown in the washer or dryer. But still ...... I wonder how wonderful this "Wonder Tape" is?

Does JoAnn's have it? I see you can buy it online but there is always shipping costs and the instant gratification factor. My project is still several weeks away from being finished but I think I will try this method out on a smaller project just to test this Wonder Tape and what will happen if you do throw it in the washer and dryer.

Spring cleaning

2011-04-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

The weather has been warming up and it's time to make the "switch". I call it the switch because I have to dig out some lighter weight clothing and switch my knitting from winter warm wooly things to summer cottonish stuff. My first instinct is to go to my LYS and buy new yarn to start a new project! I always forget that I have a "yarn cave" full of yarn. The yarn cave is our spare bedroom and yes it's full of storage boxes of yarnie stuff.

This time I was very clever and shopped at home! Wow so much I've forgotten about, I have some beautiful yarn right here waiting to be knit and enjoyed. I might add that I am very proud of myself for doing just this and resisting the temptation of buying new yarn.

Of course there was no ball band so I can only guess what I have. The content looks like some sort of mercerized cotton and maybe a rayon mix. When I give it the burn test it does smell like wood burning. There is a lovely shine to it and it's a cross between DK and Worsted weight. I chose to knit it on size 8 needles. And there was 2 of them just sitting in a box waiting to be made into a summer sweater/vest.

Lovely drape and it's just "my" colors. Why else would I have bought it?

Because I'm not sure how much yarn I have I decided to knit a top down something. I'm guessing that each yarn cake has about 350 yards and they weigh approx. 230 grms.

Short sleeve summer bolero, so far so good. I have my fingers crossed that I have enough yarn to at least make it a decent length. That is the great part about knitting from the top down, when you run out of yarn you stop.

I do have some "friendly" colorways to maybe add trimming if needed.

Flirting with Skirting

2011-04-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

The spinning guild I belong to organized part of the Escondido Wool Festival a couple of weeks ago. This is a by-product of a sheep herding dog training facility. They are only interested in training the dogs but they need sheep to herd so we get the benefit of raw fleece.

The flock is a special breed of "Dorset" sheep. One of the characteristics of this down based breed is that it does not felt. This makes this fiber ideal for socks.

All these new terms I'm getting to learn. Skirting is basically picking out the poop & dreadlocks etc. out of fleece that was sheared off a sheep. The beginning of a wool sweater.

It all starts with the bah bah sheep.

First the sheep get a hair cut. Then we have this pile of dirty wool that gets rolled up and bagged. BTW I am the proud owner of one of those bags, it is waiting for me in the special yarn cave where I store all this good stuff.

The raw fleece is spread out and you start picking. Oh it smells real nice like a barn, sort of gives you that being down in the farm kind of feeling.

After all the dirty undesirable bits are picked out about 1/4 of the fleece is put in very hot water and dish washing detergent. Most people tout Down but I think Palmolive dishwashing detergent cuts grease better. Just my own opinion. There must be a reason for touting Down by most but I am the sort who likes to test it for myself.

Fill up the bucket with very hot water add a 1/4 of a cup of dishwashing detergent gently, you do not want suds, and add your fleece. You will need some sort of tool to shove all the fleece in there because the water is ouch hot.

After a half hour a lot of rinsing takes place. More hot water NO soap but rinse rinse rinse and you have white fleece. Take the screen off your window and lay all the wool to dry in the California Sun. I was very surprised how fast it was drying.

There are more new words here, comb, drum carding, roving, spinning woolen, singles or plying etc. After you do all that work you may get this 5 ply wool. Below is Pamela's harvest of one sheep's fleece spun 5 ply, enough for a sweater maybe. I'll have to ask her how much in yardage it was and in weight.

Now only the knitting is left to do. All I can say is I have a new found respect for the prices we can buy ready made yarn for. Hours and hours of back breaking work.

I still have my raw fleece and am not sure if I will do this but it's fascinating. My friend Molly told me that I could just send my bag of fleece to Morro Fleece Works and for a slight charge they will do all this cleaning and send back roving ready to spin. Hmm.... decisions, decisions....

Monogamous Knitter I'm not.

2011-04-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

A long time ago I was faithful to one project and would start and finish it before I started another. What happened? Slowly my stash and my knitting needle collection has grown and the next thing I knew I had more than one project started. At first it was only one "main" project and another small something. Like a married man who has their "main" relationship their wife but also has a little mistress once in a while. But I think I've totally crossed over the line and have become a Polygamous Knitter.

I have projects started all over the place. I would get new yarn and just could not help myself I would bust out another pair of needles and cast on another project. Then Ravelry.com came about and this habit got super sized. There are so many beautiful projects I just can't help myself. It has gotten to the point where I keep promising to finish or "frog" it. I actually have a storage box with "finish or frog" label printed on it.

The way I now have it rationalized is when I pick one of the projects that needs finishing I think oh wow I'm halfway there maybe I'll just finish it before I start another. This works some of the time. While lost in the land of Moebii (I'm still there) I was hoping to finish with this Moebious jag so I visited the "finish or frog" box and found this little shawl I started months ago and was 99% finished and success I managed to add the button and crochet the last edge, BTW choosing just the right button was no easy task. I think that was what hung me up on these is the perfect button hunt. I think I found it.

The original pattern is by Stephen West "Daybreak". Needless to say my version is sort of that pattern with a few modifications. I should call mine "Nightfall". When I look at other projects of this pattern on Ravelry they look totally different. So what you may say, the only reason this matters is because I've had more than usual eMails with questions about this pattern. My good friend Molly who usually follows patterns pretty closely pointed out to me that mine looks different than what the pattern calls for. Yes the first part, I knit until I got tired of knitting that part. I felt it was totally useless to count rows just knit it till it looks good to you. Then the stripes started, and I did one stripe plain and simply did not like it but I left it because it really did not matter if one stripe was different.

I decided that raising the stripes with a purl bump would look better.
Sort of goes like this: Main color k 1 row purl 1 row, Contrasting Color knit 2 rows

Then of course the bind off which is demonstrated below.

This does not show how I add beads but the basic idea is here:

2011-04-01T09:57:00.001-07:00

Lost in the Magical Land of Moebii....

2011-03-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Moebeeei ..... Moebious' ..... ok lots of Moebiuses ...

I think I will go with Moebii because that is what Cat Bordhi is calling them and after all she must know because she is so very clever. The cast on for the Moebius is a bit tricky but not very difficult and once you got that down it's a very easy knit.

What I've been up to is knitting these Mobii.

The reason I stopped knitting my stranded vest is because I was getting ready to teach the Moebious at the Slipt Stitchers Guild. When I asked how many hand outs should I print they told me 50. Fifty? Does that mean that there will be 50 people in the class?

Really? 50 people? But I've never had 50 people in a class! But I kind of had no choice I was on the calendar and canceling was not an option. How hard could this be? So I figured I better knit a moebius to kind of freshen up my moebii skills. Well I just can't knit one! It is such a fun and magical thing so I got lost in the land of "Magical Moebii".

One after another I keep casting on for just one more. Now it's warmer outside, ok it's supposed to be 90 degrees today, that is hot and I can't wear wool Moebii so I cast on a cotton Moebius. And then there are the beads, I've lost my head and got into beads! But that is a whole other blog post "Lost in the land of beads..."

Inspired by Sivia Harding's Harmonia's Rings I designed what I call the "Erroneous Rings". Sivia's pattern does not fit me so this version fits better and is an easier knit. I just cast on for another and I will write down the pattern, I'll let you know when I will have it available.

The class went really well and yes there was 50 people in the class and somehow it all worked. I sent ahead the link to Cat Bordhi's video on YouTube for the cast on and her pattern. That way the more skilled knitters had a chance to try out the method and were able to help each other. As I said the cast on is a bit tricky but not hard once you get the idea. Cat did a wonderful job on the video and was kind enough to post it for all to see and learn.

CatBordhi.com

The Moebius Cowl Pattern I've been using. (Only slightly modified)

YouTube Video by Cat Bordhi

Progress is slow but coming along

2011-03-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

My vest project is coming along and taking shape. I have steeked & cut and it's starting to look like a real garment. Crochet the cutting line for the under arm area then CUT. The first snip is the scariest and after that I got very brave and cut cut cut.....

To be continued soon I hope. This is 100% wool yarn (Kauni) and it is a bit "crunchy" ok some would call it "itchy" but for me it feels like wool should feel. Because it's so rough it's very sticky so ideal for steeking because it just sticks together sort of like velcro.

Madrona? Did I go there?

2011-02-27T16:59:00.001-08:00

Now it seems like Madrona was just a dream, long gone and I'm back to the every day ho hum.... and sometimes not so ho hum of life. Yes there are exciting moments but excuse me for venting but there are days I could do without. When I'm in a mood like that I take a walk at the beach and just filling my eyes with all that beauty seems to soothe my soul.

The sun was shining and the tide was out, the wet sand just glistened.

A couple of pictures from Malibu, California.

Madrona Report

2011-02-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

What fun! I had a terrific time but then again what "fiber lover" would not have a good time at a Fiber Arts Winter Retreat?

Seattle my first stop and one more time the sunshine from Southern California seemed to follow me and the skies were clear and the sun was brightly shining on the famous Space Needle. I've never gone up there but one of these days I would like to visit the Space Needle.

On to Tacoma, WA the view from our hotel room. Puffy clouds the air was crisp and the blue skies peeked through. A beautiful day but I was inside taking my first class in spinning.

Fiber preparation by Judith McKenzie McCuin. Wow what a great class! Everything I've heard about Judith was true. She has a wealth of knowledge about fiber and spinning and life, she was soft spoken and gentle and the class was a pleasure.

I sometimes get very "antsy" in an all day class, I get tired and overwhelmed with all the information. Not in this class I was there early and I left late. I really got a lot of great information about how to prepare fiber for spinning. I can't say enough about Judith she is the "Spinning Goddess" and she is very nice.

I got her book with a dvd and brought her home with me. And yes I got her to sign my book and will treasure it in my library.

My Pocket Wheel was perfect for this class and she fit into my suitcase really nicely. BTW there was 3 Pocket Wheels in the class. Here is Judith trying out one of the older Pocket Wheels made by Doug Dodd the original designer of this little gem of a wheel.

".....the Pocket Wheel is 18 inches tall, weighs 6 pounds, and easily disassembles to fit into a tote bag. Ideal for fiber events, spinning in the car or RV, or anyone who prefers a compact ultra-portable spinning wheel."

I'll share more as time permits.......

Project Update

2011-02-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

I have named my new Vest,

"FeeFee Swirl"

My sweet, sweet doggie Fee Fee is now 17 years old and she is slowing down dramatically. Each day I can see her struggling with the simplest of things like trying to get up the 3 stairs from the front yard or when she first wakes up her little muscles are stiff and it takes her a minute or two to get going. I can relate to that Fee Fee, as a matter of fact I can relate to the whole aging thing.

As I once heard Andy Rooney say on 60 minutes "I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."

It is so very sad to see a precious pet come to the end of their life. It is part of nature, we are born and then we come to the end of our life on this earth the cycle repeats. So as I sit here with my faithful doggie right next to me charting out the front of my new vest "FeeFee Vest".

Yes I'm charting this pattern by hand because it just seems easier and kind of relaxing to draw out with pencil and good old fashioned paper. I wonder if there is an app or some sort of chart generator that had been created for this job? An app for my iPad would be ideal. But until I find such it is pencil and paper.

The back is almost finished and I will be steeking it, because it's being knit in the round. The stranding fair isle pattern is just easier to knit in the round.

Scurf attack

2011-02-04T16:48:00.001-08:00

Some of you may not be interested in this detail about about fleece but I find it fascinating. What exactly is Scurf? Basically it's animal dandruff. Tiny little flakes mixed in with the fiber. It's a skin condition of the animal, little bits of dead skin. Exactly the same as if we shaved human hair with a slight condition of dandruff.

I bought a pound of this magnificent Mohair soft and wonderful to the touch but when I started to spin it I noticed these tiny little dandruff looking bits. Coincidentally I had just taken a class last weekend at a "Fiber Frolic" I attended and they talked about scurf. Prior to this I had never heard of it or knew such a condition existed. Little did I know that a few days later I would be confronted with Mohair with scurf!

I have eMailed lots of people that I thought could advise me because I really did not want to hear that I should send this pound of wonderful mohair back to where it came from. I like it, I already have some projects in mind for it and so I have a dilemma.

No I don't think Head and Shoulders would help. I did think of it though. The lucky part is that the color is almost the same as the flakes and I can flick, pick or kick them out. But do I want to add this extra work? Dilemma.

See the bag of fleece that is 8 oz, I have 16 oz that's a lot of dandruff. But at least it's not black. I placed a pencil in the picture to give perspective of the size of the little flakes. I'll let you know how it goes.

- Posted by Ana Petrova

I'm on a "fair isle" roll

2011-01-25T06:59:00.001-08:00

I've finished the hat and LOVED knitting fair isle but.... a bit more practice is needed. I've been searching for a good chart, one that fit my specifications. As usual I needed to make modifications to suit my style of knitting. Took out the old pencil and paper and designed my own. Wish me luck.

Cast on and fingers crossed (figuratively because if I cross my fingers I can't knit). I'm hoping this does not turn into a hat. Lately I've been making a lot of hats I'm not sure why but I love making hats. Here is my progress so far and it's starting to look suspiciously like a hat.

Knitting the back of what I thought would be a vest, in the round and will be steeked (cut) to make a flat piece. But when my DH saw me knitting he asked if I was making another hat? And he put it on his head and it really did look like a hat. But NO it's a vest!

Blog neglect....

2011-01-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Writing entries in this blog are fun, that's why I do it but..... it is time consuming! I have decided to write on my blog once a week on Fridays. Until further changing of my mind here it is a Friday and I am blogging about how my knitting week went.

I have started several projects and surprise surprise not one got finished. I've been knitting socks for "Big Foot" aka. dh. (Dear Husband). He has discovered the wonderful world of hand knit socks. I have created a monster, his socks take a lot longer for me to knit and they are boring. He does not like the colors I want to knit or any fancy stitches. Just your basic socks like the Tami Socks but a bit bigger and on smaller needles. Shish....

Cascade Sock Yarn, navy blue. Size 2.5 Signature needles. Pattern: Tami Socks

While I'm on a sock knitting kick I thought I would start a new colorful pair for myself. Yarn is Blue Moon Fibers, 2.5 mm needles. Pattern: Basic toe up short row heel & toe.

I'm going to teach knitting socks at the Slipt Stitch Knitting Guild in September. I know that is several months away but I thought I would practice some new techniques. I'll let you know how that goes.

Just a couple more projects I've been working on this week. Another AnaBandana scarf, in pale grey and white shadow knitting with beads. Alpaca yarn, so so soft!

About 80% done with this project, it's on my schedule to finish this weekend.

Last but not least my fair isle attempt. I have never really done a whole entire project "fair isle". For those who may not know all these fancy knitterly terms, it's simply multicolor knitting. The are two main ways to knit with different colors and strands. One is Fair Isle and the other is Intarsia. Fair Isle is usually done in the round because it's just easier to accomplish this technique. It is where one color is used for the knit stitch and the second strand of a different color is carried in the back.

The technique I use is the left hand does Continental knitting and the right hand uses "The Throw Method" or English Knitting. I am a Continental knitter and it's kind of awkward for me to "Throw" but I'm getting used to it. This method kind of equals the playing field because if you are a "Thrower" then the "Continental" method will be awkward and vica versa.

I did make a little mistake with my chart and did not realize that I had turned it sideways. Oops! Also I trimmed a few stitches to match my cast on. Oops again. But I think all is well that ends well and so far it looks like it's going to turn out well.

On a personal note, I will be going to the GLASG (Greater Los Angeles Spinning Guild) meeting tomorrow and we have a program: Long draw and short draw. As you may know I'm a beginning spinner so I welcome any instructions to master my new love of spinning wool.

You are as good as your tools.

2011-01-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

I have always paid very close attention to tools. My dear mother used to say (with her Hungarian accent) "You've always tooled up elegantly". I love to work with my hands and no matter what I am making the right tool can make the difference between a fun easy pleasurable task or miserable one. And the outcome is proof that the old saying "You are as good as your tools." There is this other one translated "Good tools are half the work."

Using a good tool that was designed thoughtfully well is indeed a pleasure. Yesterday I got just that in the mail a set of Signature double pointed needles. Ok they were not cheap but my dear far superior to any other double pointed needles I have.

Happy New Year....

2011-01-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

This last year 2010 seemed like it flew by. Yet when I take a look at all the pictures I took last January seems like it was so long ago. I love taking pictures I always have and now that I can save them on the computer and have such easy access I use photography all the time. I use pictures to remind me how I did a certain knit pattern or even what brand of underwear my husband likes so when I go to the store I can just look it up on my iPhone. I love gadgets and when they work some of the new ones are brilliant.

This is a knitting blog primarily so I will post about what I've been knitting on since my last post. Last year I got into spinning and dyeing yarn. What fun it's been, I love spinning and the dyeing is just the cherry on the cake. I only use food coloring that I get at my local Smart & Final. Primary colors 2 bucks a bottle and I can use all my kitchen utensils and it's non toxic and permanent. That is the first question people ask me is will it last? Yes it's permanent and will not wash out. Of course like other dyes some colors fade faster than others.

I first started spinning on a drop spindle, the one I love is Jenkins Woodworks Turkish spindle. Mr. Jenkins is an artist and the little wooden spindle is like a work of art. Beautifully made and functions superbly, balanced just right and it's a source of hours of hours of entertainment. For those who do not understand why anybody would work so very hard on making yarn when you can buy it readily made all I can say is that it's not about the yarn you make but the process. Hey it's better than taking Prozac, it's a very relaxing activity and with the world so crazy around me I need calm and relaxation. Also it makes me feel like I've taken a step back to simpler times when you made your own wool to make your own socks etc.

Here are some pictures of the first project of the year. Simple wrist warmer, oh but it feels so wonderful and it's warm!

The pattern:

"One Ply" Single yarn spun from Pagewood Farm merino wool. 50 grams about 80 yards. Needle used 1.25 dpn knit in the round. (Any sock yarn will do for those who do not spin.)

Using a size 3 needle co 72 sts using the German Twisted cast on method for a loose cast on. Join to knit in the round, place a stitch marker so you know where it starts and k3, p3 for about 2”.

Beginning at the next round K2 tog, k3, p3 for 4” (Spiral rib)

Beginning at the next round K1, M1, K1, k3, p3 for 2 more inches.

Crochet picot bind off: take your crochet hook slip 3 sts and pull the working yarn through all 3, chain 4 and repeat all the way around.

(Here is a demo of this bind off I made with a different stitch count.)

Happy Holidays

2010-12-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

I have not posted for a while, just busy with life. Knitting, cooking, sorting yarn and yes spinning too. This was posted on FaceBook by Lucy Neatby and I just loved it so I thought I would share it on my blog. Getting in the mood for the holidays.

Lakedale Resort on San Juan Island

2010-10-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Lakedale Resort, the setting could not have been more beautiful. We were very lucky the weather was perfect, the food was excellent and the company superb. Cat Bordhi and Anna Zilboorg were sharing some of their fiber knowledge with stories about knitting history and their experiences.

I loved sitting around the lodge in front of the huge fireplace with the lake in the background.

This was my spot I was knitting, my Pocket Wheel because I like to spin once in a while. My bowl full of dryer balls. You never know when you need some wool balls, they have so many uses. And all my knitting tools, no wonder I had no room in my suitcase. But wait while we were eating the room turns into a yarn store!

A lady from Lopez Island brought over her yarn store and as if by magic the room turned into a yarn store! More stuff for my suitcase.

Just as quickly as it appeared the yarn store was gone and we were back sitting around knitting learning new stitches, listening to good stories and yes laughed a lot.

The iPads were consulted when needed and a good time was had by all.

I had such a good time I'm sure I'll be posting more bear with me.

Back to reality

2010-10-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

The hardest part about spending a week knitting and spinning and laughing with like minded friends is coming home to reality. It's shocking. I want to go downstairs and have my breakfast with my new friends and put the dishes on a tray and settle in the huge soft sofa and have Anna Zilborg or Cat Bordhi tell me stories while I'm knitting or spinning. Then have a delicious lunch served to us and while we are in the dining room chatting and having a good time the lodge turns into a knitting store with beautiful yarn, roving and naturally dyed stuff with a tray of buttons. Beautiful buttons and I'm not even sure what else because there was so much stuff to choose from.

For a break we would stroll on to the deck by the lake and spin a little on my wonderful Pocket Wheel that I took with me carefully packed in my suitcase. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, as far as I'm concerned it was as good as it gets for a retreat. Well there was one little problem Cat kept "kidnapping" my Pocket Wheel. Each time I would leave it unattended for a moment puff it was gone. Then I would get an eMail informing me that she was kidnapped with a photo attached. I had to figure out where the she was hidden. Honestly when Cat and I get together we revert back to two silly little girls. But enjoyable fun, lots of laughs and the creative ideas just comeMy Pocket-Wheel is packed carefully cushioned by pajamas knitted sweaters and wool balls. Glad to report that she made it safe and sound. Although I miss her because I dropped her off at Mr. Pocket Wheel's studio for a little once over. Just to make sure she is in her tip top condition. Did I say I miss my Pocket Wheel? Somehow I've fallen in love with this little wheel.
My friend Leslie and I are in Seattle on our way to visit the Picasso exhibit at the museum.

While we were waiting to go in to the Picasso exhibit we strolled around the museum and look there was this Sock Statue! Made out of knitted socks. It was over six foot tall and it had granny square boots. Wow! Now I know what to do with all my old socks.

A couple of pictures I was able to take before they told me that picture taking was not allowed? Why Not? What is this all about when museums do not allow pictures. I can understand flash no being allowed but taking a picture with my iPhone is so "stealth".
Maybe Picasso discovered Acid, clearly something was going on here....

My friend Leslie with her new hat she bought at the gift shop. None of the hats looked good on me so no hat for me.

Knitter's do not pack light, we have lots of gear. The spinning wheels, knitting bags, sweaters etc.

The ferry arrives in Friday Harbor.

My friend Steve from Seattle, a beautiful knitter. The only one who almost finished their Anna Zilboorg sock.
Cat Bordhi posing for my camera.
The lake and clear blue skies. It was beautiful.

I will post more next time. I can tell you that a good time was had by all and it went by too fast. Too too fast.

Extremebspinning

2010-10-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

Devra always made me laugh...

2010-10-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

I posted this picture of Devra and I on Facebook and one of our friends remarked that Devra made all of us laugh.

Now I'm off for some R&R to Friday Harbor, for some rest and relaxation. Meeting up with good friends and we will be in a beautiful place, some knitting and spinning...... life is good. Cat Bordhi and Anna Zilboorg will be teaching us. I can hardly wait.

One of my friends suffered a stroke...

2010-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

One of my oldest friends Devra shown below at a reunion lunch on the far right with the print loose blouse suffered a major stroke. We have known each other since high school. We are all very shook up and praying for her recovery.

Life is scary sometimes.

ana, mary, pam & devra

The photograph above was taken by Devra's brother Ed Caraeff at the Newsroom Cafe.

"Chef Eddie J"

"It was recently the 40th anniversary of Monterey Pop, the California festival that brought artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Laura Nyro to the world’s attention. That’s where my dear friend Ed Caraeff, then 15 years old, took what Jann Wenner once called “the most famous rock ‘n roll photo ever” of Hendrix setting his guitar on fire.
Eddie, who went on to a successful photography career and is now an equally successful LA chef, was honored at the anniversary celebration for his work, and is shown here standing next to the photo display. Way to go, Eddie!"

http://www.shorefire.com/blog/2007/06/let-me-stand-next-to-your-fire.html

A bit of personal history.

2010-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is part of an elaborate apparatus and I do not know what it's function was but it looked so fascinating I saved it in memory of my father.

A picture of John Zadori working at Hughes Aircraft Company.

Circa late 1950's

This is off topic but important to me. Today would have been my father's 98th birthday. John Zadori was born on September 28th, 1912 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an educated man and had a lifelong love of his profession. He became a "glass engineer" a scientific glass blower. He was fascinated with glass all the way up to his 80's when he died.

As I was remembering his birthday this morning I had the television on and happen to have CNN channel playing. Not really watching it just sort of having it in the background as I was preparing for my busy days activities. But something got my attention, they mentioned Lasik eye surgery.

This reminded me that my father actually made the first laser built. Dr. Theodore Maiman invented it but my father was the glass blower/engineer who actually made the instrument. When we first came to this country none of us spoke English and both my mother and father were in their mid 40's. To start from nothing must have been quite daunting for them. Although they were so very happy to get out of Communist Hungary and land in Los Angeles the details were just incidental.

The first job my father had was working at a church as the custodian. He swept the church and cleaned and did menial labor while my mother got jobs as a cleaning lady. Neither ever complained or ever regretted coming to America. However my father had a unique skill and he ached to work in his profession. Six months after we arrived here in January of 1957 Howard Hughes heard about my father and his glass blowing & engineering capabilities. Howard found my father and promptly hired him. My father actually had met Howard Hughes. I remember my father telling us that Howard Hughes used to come by and watch him work. So today I will spend the day remembering my father "Happy Birthday Papa".

Theodore Maiman is famous for inventing the first functioning laser in the world in 1960. He has been called “the father of the electro-optics industry,” but Maiman considers himself a scientist and an engineer, with research interests in electro-optics, lasers, displays, and aerodynamics. In addition to his patent on the first working laser, the ruby laser, Maiman also holds patents on masers, laser displays, optical scanning, and laser modulation.
Maiman was born in 1927 in Los Angeles, California. Interested in technology at an early age, he worked for a time as a radio and appliance repairman. In part, Maiman’s later academic pursuits were inspired by his father, an electronics engineer and an inventor.
Maiman began his academic studies at the University of Colorado and earned a B.S. degree in engineering physics in 1949. Two years later he attended Stanford University and obtained a master’s degree in electrical engineering and then a doctorate in physics in 1955.
In 1960 Maiman invented the first functioning laser in the world while working at Hughes Aircraft Company.

http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Theodore_H._Maiman

Design Your Own Shawl

2010-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

For me it started with "Snow Beast" a white fairly inexpensive pure wool roving. Below is a pictorial of how this project came about. First I got the white roving then I saw this painting by Monet and used it as my inspiration for the colors I wanted to dye it.

I used food coloring, the three primary colors mixed and then spun the yarn on my Pocket Wheel. Knit it up one ply with beads added at the bottom.

Because I've gotten lots of requests about the pattern I used for the "single ply" shawls, I made a YouTube video on the cast on directions. As time permits I will include the bind off and the application of the beads around the edge.

I've been wearing these shawls and they wonderfully comfortable. I know I will get lots of use out of them. The beads weigh it down so it stays around the shoulder. I'm wondering why have I not done this before?

So many projects so little time.

One ply but I like it.

2010-09-20T06:06:00.001-07:00

The "Ventura Llama" shawl is finished. (well almost maybe I may add a couple of buttons).

This is the first hand spun yarn and project since my spinning obsession started. It is one ply and to some of us this does not really matter but there are some out there the fiber connoisseurs who roll their eyes when I confess to using a one ply yarn right off the bobbin. I did not know there are such rules I just spun and then knit. And here it is all finished.

I added a few beads just to give it some weight so it sits on the shoulders nicely and adds a little bit of sparkle.

I decided that maybe I should educate myself about this plying thing and to my surprise there was Clara Parkes' article one of the first hits on Google. I still continue the "like u very much" Clara Parkes! She writes about spinning and plying yarn. I've written about her before and now that I'm a spinner there is just more interesting factoids she offers her readers. I was interested in finding out more about plying yarn

Knitter's Review article on plying.

I have a lot to learn but as usual I'm plugging along trying to spin in a style that suits my hand and idea of what I want the fiber to look like. I did not know that it's not that desirable to knit with a one ply yarn. I kind of like it. I see in this photo below of the new project I'm knitting, slightly different style. It sort of looks loosey goosey but in person it's very soft and it's starting to bloom.

Which means that it will fuzz up the holes and it's wool so it will be a very warm and cozy scarf. Also started to document the pattern so I will be able to share this one with you as soon as I finish. I'm about half way done.

I've written about Clara on this blog and have met her several times at knitting events. She is just as nice as she sounds in her writings.

before: http://bananaknits.blogspot.com/2010/04/clara-parkes-youre-amazing.html

On the needles

2010-09-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

I'm becoming quite the connoisseur of fibers (just kidding). When I "show & tell" any project the first question is always what yarn is it? Now that I'm hand spinning yarn the question becomes what fiber? Next will be which sheep? And maybe what was the sheep eating etc. I'm not sure how far spinners take this fiber content thing.

The fiber is "CVM" California Variegated Mutant Sheep's wool and Llama mix. I especially like to say CVM and explain that it's a Mutant Sheep from California.

I bought the roving in Ventura at the Ventura Spinner's Guild Fair and spun a one ply yarn then just started knitting. I think you are supposed to prepare the yarn various ways before you knit it but I got inpatient and just wanted to start a project.

I call it "Ventura Llama" and I'm almost done, I think I like it. So far it's progressing nicely. I want to finish this for my upcoming trip to Friday Harbor.

10 oz of fiber yielded me about 1,600 yards of lace weight yarn. Size U.S. 6 needles. And the pattern is made up by me.

Cast on 9 sts.

Row 1: K2, place marker (orange), k5, place marker (green) k2.

Row 2: Slip the first stitch pw (all rows start with a slipped stitch) kfb (knit front & back), yo, k5, yo, kfb, k1

Row 3 & all odd rows: S1, kfb, knit to marker & slip marker, knit the 5 center sts, slip marker & knit to one stitch before the last stitch & kfb, k1.

Continue in this manner until the piece measures 12" or where it fits you or when you get tired of it. The edging will be up to you add in your favorite or pick my favorite which is what I call "xxx zig zag" stitch.

Here is the youTube video I made:

"Will it stay or will it just wash out?”

2010-09-09T13:11:00.001-07:00

Teaching others how I dye wool with Food Coloring

The class was a great success we all had a great time but I think I had a better time than the students. I love "tinting" yarn. I know it's simply a chemical reaction but my artistic heart knows it's magic. You start with one color and end up with another. Many times I have looked for yarn in a specific color and in a specific weight to no avail. I have a vision of a completed garment, and in order to make that project, I need sock weight yarn in dark colors but with just a slightly blue hue. Well, good luck. Not any more, I am now capable of duplicating the exact color I want.

Yarn dyeing is rather an art than a science. There are too many variables to give you exact formulas. There are some books and web sites that do just that and, if you need that kind of information, there is lots of it online and in books.

The number one question I get asked when I show some of the yarn that I have tinted with food coloring is "Will it stay or will it just wash out?” And my answer is yes, it's permanent, however I don't have the years of experience in this to tell you exactly how permanent. Ask me in a couple of years I will be able to tell you from personal experience. I have asked others who showed me their food dyed wool garment and the answer was "it has not washed out yet".

If the water is clear when you are rinsing the yarn, the color has set and will not wash out. It may fade, but there is no class of dyes that are 100% fade proof. Given enough time, number of washings and how you wash it, ie. soap used and exposure to UV light, color fades no matter what kind of dye or method of dyeing is used. Here are some pictures from the class, some of us got more on our hands than on the wool. Not to worry it washes off your hands not immediately but after doing a load of dishes and take a shower and I was almost all clean.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/FEATdyeyourown.html

http://www.wolfandturtle.net/Dye/index.php

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing.shtml

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/fooddyes.shtml

I'm dizzy from spinning ..... around and around we go....

2010-09-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

I call her "Kicsi" (it means tiny in Hungarian)

The Ultimate Portable Spinning Wheel. Hand crafted by Jon McCoy Pocket-Wheel.com

Do you want one? Well not so fast the waiting list to get one is long and lots of patience will be required. My name is on the list, estimated time of delivery about March or April of 2011.

My new LOVE from an old LOVE

2010-08-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

My DH (dear husband) surprised me on my birthday and wanted to take me for a drive. I thought ok we have not been for a "long" Sunday drive for a long time it will be fun. With Lucy and my knitting bag in tow off we went. My husband driving some old winding roads headed north some roads that he used to ride his motorcycle many years ago.

He is driving my SUV and the roads are winding around rolling hills the weather is perfect we have great music on and ...... life is good. He is driving with all the windows down making motorcycle engine noises and taking the corners as if he was driving a sports car. I smiled it was very cute. Lucy loved sticking her nose in the wind and our hair was blowing in the wind.

After about an hour of this I asked where were we going? I see we are approaching Ojai then the fog of the beach and Santa Barbara but he keeps going. I'm getting a bit hungry now, hang on he says we are almost there. Where? Where are you going?

Oh the Anderson Pea Soup place, we have not been there for many years and I remember having delicious pea soup there. It's kind of far for lunch from Los Angeles but great it was a fun drive. The pea soup is not quite what I remembered the place is exactly the same as I first saw it several decades ago. It was kind of like a time warp, same since the 60's and some of the waitresses looked like they were there since the 60's. The soup was salty and thin and not at all what I had in my memory. Oh well I was hungry and they had crackers.

Then my husband asked me to see how far Solvang was from there, I immediately took a look on my iPhone only 4 minutes from here. Let's go to Solvang. My heart kind of skipped because you know what's up in Solvang? Village Spinning & Weaving

My husband bought me an Ashford Joy spinning wheel. I am now officially a "spinner".

Back to my Self-Imposed Schedule

2010-08-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

After I posted about the schedule thing I realized that I was not that far behind after all. I should not be so hard on myself, this is something that I really enjoy and is not work but play. Sometimes though this playing around gets to be hard work.

I am organizing and getting ready for a class I'm teaching: "The Magic of Dyeing Wool" I figured that I should be able to show some examples and it would have to be shown step by step. Write up my handouts make my list of stuff to take to the class and then teach 12 to 20 students how I dye wool. I limited the class to 12 students but I know we will have more judging from last time. I have some wonderful friends who will be helping out because this is a very hands on exercise.

We will be using Food Coloring that I get at Smart & Final and is readily available at most food markets. There are no special tools or containers just stuff we all have around the kitchen and it's not toxic. This is the first project I made from the yarn I dyed pictured above.

These are little yarn cozies or anything cozy. Little bags or bowls that I love to make. Some are knitted and some are crocheted. BTW those two in the front are made from fiber I dyed and spun.

Yesterday it was Flashlight Day.

2010-08-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

What in the world is Flashlight Day? I've written about this before right here, and the story goes on. It was my Birthday Yesterday and my son delivered! I got the best flashlight ever!

It has a dimmer and it's feet are magnetic and it has wrapping legs! I got lots of nice presents but this one is very special it's from my son who has the best sense of humor and makes me laugh every day!

With its wrappable legs and magnetic feet, the Gorillatorch secures to virtually any surface and allows you to cast a focused beam of intense light virtually anywhere and everywhere. Use it in ways you could never use a traditional flashlight.

I'm way behind schedule

2010-08-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

What schedule? I ask myself over and over this fiber obsession is a hobby. I should not have deadlines because then it would be a job. Somehow I always have a schedule in mind some sort goal to finish a certain project or accomplish a certain skill etc. It's just how I "roll" and lately I'm "rolling" out of control.

I've seen movies like this when a drug dealer offers somebody some drug and says just try it one time. You can't get hooked by trying it one time! Then suddenly you have an out of control drug addict. Now I need an intervention "Hello my name is Ana and I'm a spinning wool addict". I have the urge to spin all the time. Having the fiber slip through your fingers and creating yarn is magical. I have fallen in love with spinning.

I originally got attracted to spinning by watching people at different knitting events. The first big event I went to was Stitches West, I had no idea that they had these huge organized "knitting conventions". It was like knitters Disneyland. People running around taking classes, shopping at the market place like a bunch of crazed ladies with a token man here and there. The stress level was on high, you would see people plopped down on a couch here and there with obvious total exhaustion.

(BTW I won "Editors Choice" when I entered their student fashion show. I was surprised but totally hooked I wanted more events and have not stopped since.)

While at stitches west and every other event I've been to since there are spinners. In the middle of chaos an island of calm. Usually off in a corner there is a group of people with their spinning wheels spinning yarn. And it's like somebody turned down the stress button from frenzy to total calm. This attracted me but it looked complicated, there is the wheel and even though it looks so easy when an expert is doing it I could tell this was a refined skill.

I decided to start slow and bought a drop spindle. Which one to get? I got the cheapest and thought if I made bulky yarn it would be easier than what I saw those spinners making "spider web" wool. Got the roving got the drop spindle had somebody show me and started to practice. Things just did not go well. But I kept trying for a couple of years I would take out the spindle and try, with a no this is not going well. Then I would buy a different spindle and try to realize once again it's not the spindle but it's the lack of skill. Then one day a couple of weeks ago it all "clicked" and suddenly it worked! Funny because I've talked to spinners who have told me about that aha moment and wondered if they were just making it all up. But no I had the aha moment too and now I am hooked.

I can combine it all: Dye the roving, spin the yarn and knit the project. Yes knit a project but I'm too busy experimenting with all this dyeing, spinning and plying and my knitting schedule is way behind.

A friend offered to send me a little baby sheep! Not funny Miss Leslie!

I'm getting ready for a class I'm teaching at the Santa Monica Library. The class will be September 1, 2010, Wednesday evening from 6 pm to 8 pm. We will be using food coloring to dye protein fibers. I hope I'll be able to share my enthusiasm and fun that I'm having playing with wool and color.

Murphy's Law

2010-08-10T08:17:00.001-07:00

Murphy's Law - everything that can go wrong will go wrong..

The Demo Factor - when showing something to somebody and it does not work, it worked fine before you started showing it and works fine after but not working when you are showing it. This especially applies to machines like the computer or anything mechanical.

Over Confident Factor - when learning a new skill and you start thinking that you are doing something really well and oh how clever you are how you picked it up fast. Boom you make a big mistake and have to start all over perhaps with a bit more humble attitude.

Desperate Factor - usually happens when you need to do something in a hurry. The more desperate you are the more things can go wrong.

Why am I going on about this? You guessed it things are not going as smooth as I would like them. There are outside interferences to my agenda. I would like to be left in peace and just do what I want when I want. But there is disturbances like taking care of my family.... dogs ..... household chores ...... garden duties oh yes and work. I'm amazed I get as much knitting, and spinning as I manage but I want more.

What set me off this morning are my dogs! I love them very much but they can be a pain in the rear sometimes. When I sit at the spinning wheel Lucy wants to sit right next to me or play with my roving and even help with the foot pedals. If I keep my roving in a basket she is sure to jump right in and curl up happily as if the wool was the most comfy thing she has ever laid her little body down on.

Because I knit "by the seat of my pants" with no particular pattern and improvise a lot often I forget what I did. I originally started this blog to keep track of my knitting. It was pre Ravelry.com and it was a handy way to journal my hobby. When I tried to keep a real paper journal I kept misplacing the books and was not able to word search. If I wanted to include a picture I would have to print it out paste it in the book etc. Keeping a web log (blog) seemed the perfect tool. I did not think anybody would be interested in my stuff so I thought this was a private personal amusement. I am still shocked that friends and strangers actually visit my blog and read what I'm up to.

A lot of knitting techniques are difficult to explain in words, as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well then a motion picture or video is worth a million words. So since taking a video snippet of a technique is so easily done now I've started to take videos of what I'm doing. But this presents a challenge, most of the time I'm alone and I have to manage the camera and audio and make sure that I'm covering what I want to without shaking the camera or having weird noises in the background. For example part 2 of the picot edge I've been doing on my "Magic Bags" you can clearly hear Lucy barking her little head off.

Both dogs are so sweet and quiet most of the time but the minute I turn the camera on or get on the phone they start barking. (See below) I wanted to remember how I was drafting and document my progress in this new skill. Got the white towel in my lap so I can see the yarn fibers clearly, got the camera positioned and ready set go.... nice Zen . Oh spinning is so relaxing ...... Bark..... Bark..... Bark. Bark Louder BARK BARK SCREAM!

Suddenly my Zen experience got uptight. I suddenly forget my technique the draft is too short I'm pulling the fibers awkwardly and it's not what I wanted to show. Darn I'll have to do it again.

Here is the finished stage 1 of mystery wool 8 oz. Now I have to learn how to ply.

Crochet Picot Edge Bind Off Part 1

At least I did not invent this

2010-08-09T11:22:00.001-07:00

Out of the closet.

2010-08-07T08:34:00.001-07:00

My friend Andy "The Dodger Fan" drove her new car and we were off to Dodger Stadium.

I have been knitting most of my life however I only discovered the "knitting community" about 5 years ago. When I first met Kathy Silverton at her charity store Stitches from the Heart she asked me where I knit? What do you mean? Which chair or what room I sit in? I thought what a strange question. When I told her that I knit at home and most of the time alone she called me a "Closet Knitter".

I had no idea that there was such things as "stich n bitch", Stitches West, Stitches East, fiber festivals, knitting guilds etc..... I could go on and on. And what a wonderful community it is, knitters are fun! I now belong to two knitting guilds and about to join the spinning guild, not to forget the machine knitters and various Stitch n Bitch groups. Then there are the knitting trips, the SeaSock Knitting Cruise, the Sock Summit, the Sock Camp and the retreats .... Oh my calendar is full.

Last night I attended our Stitch n Pitch, which is sort of like a Stitch n Bitch but at the Dodger Stadium watching a baseball game and knitting. What fun! We bought our tickets at our LYS, (Local Yarn Store) Wildfiber..... oh yes there is special language that goes with knitters they love to abbreviate and share this secret language of the knitting world. And not to forget "Closet Knitter".

I'm out of the closet now! And having a wonderful time hanging out with knitters.

My Turkish Spindle

2010-07-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

I've entered the "dark side" and jumped in to the deep end of the pool. I LOVE spinning. I was afraid of this.

Zebra wood Ed Jenkins Turkish Spindle, a work of art.

It has become my favorite!

Turkish Spindle + Pagewood Farm hand dyed Roving = Nirvana

Round and Round and Spinning and Spinning

2010-07-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

So many times I've been at knitting events and have been asked if I spun. And I would answer that only around my own axis because I just don't get it. I've purchased several drop spindles and roving hoping to master the art of drop spindling. ( That may not be the right word, but you know what I mean.) It looked so easy when others were doing it and I thought well surely I can do that if that person can. Well not so fast missy, it was not that easy. The yarn that I spun looked very sad and then I would give up till the next knitting event and I would buy a different spindle hoping maybe that was what made the difference. But no that did not work and I did repeat this about 4 times, I know this because I found 4 drop spindles in the "spinning" department of my storage room (aka. the spare bedroom).

My friend Andy shared that she just bought a "Meggie" and that it was so much easier to use than a drop spindle because you use your feet. Yes if I could use both my hands then spin with my foot that is it, maybe this may work for me. So I went for spindle #5 and ordered it from a seller on Etsy. This one is advertised as a spindle/wheel. You may ask why not just jump right in and get a spinning wheel? I'm not sure but I did not want that much commitment and expense. Also there is the which wheel should I get and the spinning guild and so much equipment will be needed and I have so little space.

The little Meggie arrived very fast but to my chagrin the shaft was cracked and the little hook fell out and was obviously damaged. I eMailed the the seller and got an answer that they will replace the shaft not to worry. (I'm still waiting.)

I was complaining bitterly about this because I was ready to sit down and start spinning, my husband was very sympathetic. He is really good that way, he immediately said that he may be able to help out and fix it. I showed him one of the hooks on a drop spindle which was much more substantial than the little tiny hook that fell out. "I want a hook in there like this one" I told him.

A half hour later he came back with the spindle fixed. God Bless his heart he is so handy that way. He told me that the hook is now two inches down the shaft and will not come out no matter how much I tug on it.

Link to the Meggie:

http://www.heavenlyhandspinning.com/e-commerce-solutions-catalog2.html

I can't count to five.

2010-07-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

I found this cartoon somewhere and it's describing me.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 .....

I can't count to five, I have no trouble counting to 3 but 5 is a problem.

This is my solution, you may look and see a string but no it's a row counter and a stitch marker.

My pattern is 5 row repeats in the round, and I place the first loop that will be round one and each time I come to the string I know to move the loop to the next one. I cleverly added a little bead at the end so I know which end is up.

When I reach the last loop I know I've completed 5 rows, no paper, no row counter just a little piece of string. And even if I put the knitting down and pick it up at random I still know where I left off.

It's cooked

2010-07-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

It took a bit of time to post about it but here it is my last dyeing & knitting project from start to finish. In case you can not tell what it is: a yarn cozy. It's designed to hold my ball or "cake" of yarn to protect it and to keep it from getting tangled up. Notice there is a center pull hole at the bottom should I choose to use that feature.

I find when I use a "center pull" the yarn sort of collapses towards the end and gets all tangled up. This clever holder prevents that, the wool sort of sticks to the yarn and keeps it from tangling. I try and use what is considered a rough wool and bright colors also add some stitches that maybe fun to do. I used food coloring to dye the yarn and steamed it in the vegetable steamer.

This particular project I knit the bottom by "short rowing" making a circle. If you want the pattern for the bottom scroll down.

Approximate gauge: 5 sts = 1"

(Gauge is not that important here because this is going to be "felted")

k
sl1, k10, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k9, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k8, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k7, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k6, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k5, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k4, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k3, turn
yo, k to end
sl1, k2, turn
yo, k to end

Knit all the yo's together to eliminate the holes.

(kyotog - knit yarn over together with the next stitch.)

sl1, k1, kyotog, *kyotog*, to the end of the row.
k

Repeat rows 1-21 six times bind off.

Sew the edges together to make a circle and weave in ends. Throw it in the washing machine with hot water and your other wash. Let the whole cycle run take it out wet.

This will be the bottom of the bag. While it's wet I pick up stitches all around the circle bottom by poking a small crochet hook and pulling the yarn and placing it on a circular needle. (It molds better and will dry as you are knitting.) Then knit 5 rows, turn around knit 5 more rows the other way. Using the yarn over technique to prevent the hole where you turned around.

Happy Knitting

What's cooking in my kitchen.

2010-07-06T12:16:00.003-07:00

I'm almost done with the project I'll share soon.

What

2010-07-06T12:16:00.001-07:00

I'm a better knitter than a crocheter but

2010-07-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to improve my crochet skills.

I was at Wildfiber on Wednesday night and saw a scarf made with this pattern. (Large Wheel Stitch aka. Catherine's Wheel) I liked the way it looked, especially the one Terri was making. She offered a class to learn this crochet stitch but I missed it. One of the reasons I don't crochet more is I usually feel that the fabric crochet makes is not as attractive as knitted fabric. But of course this depends on the eye of the beholder. Because I don't have enough projects going (LOL) I thought I would start one more. I often get bored with a project or my hands need to rest and switch around with the repeated movements. Sometimes my right thumb starts hurting if I knit too much and switching to crochet helps to rest that part of my hand.

I really like to crochet it's so portable and seems easy, except when I'm trying to follow charts and directions. This is not my best forte anyway but I'm determined to learn this. Learning new skills is always good for the brain, so they say. This can be very satisfying or very frustrating depending how well things are going.

Even if I do not accomplish a whole entire scarf with this pattern, it's giving me satisfaction that I can learn a new skill. The YouTube video really helps, I can't seem to figure out charts and symbols as easily as some of my friends. I'm more of a visual person, YouTube Rocks. I'm hoping my good friend Ellen Bloom will help me out with this, she is a wonderful crocheter. I will be seeing her this Thursday night at the Original Farmer's Market in West Hollywood.

Large Wheel Stitch - Catherine's Wheel - Harlequin - Triple Crochet

12 chains to complete each segments. Starting with 38 = 3 wheels.

What's a blog without a dog

2010-07-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm so tempted to give Lucy a few highlights. She has the perfect hair just begging for a few maybe blue tips on the end of her little curly tail. She is so little and so cute and so full of life and mischief. Adding a little color to her fur coat would look wonderful. But then sometime her owner is full of mischief too. Do not worry I will not use the Microwave, I will skip that step.

Also I would only use Kool-Aid or food coloring and would be careful not to touch her skin or hair she can reach to lick off. I promise I will not torture the dog too much. For that matter she tortures me plenty and as we all know pay back is a bitch. (Oh no I did not say that!)

What a difference a dye makes

2010-07-01T10:46:00.001-07:00

Before:

And after:

I am now busy "hanking" and playing with my "dye lots". So far it's just been fun "willy nilly tinting" but in order to make enough yarn to be enough for a project is another matter. For some of the sizes I knit, (ok my size) I need more than one hank of yarn. Now the challenge is to be able to make enough yarn for a sweater with the same sort of colors, in other words make the same dye lot.

I fell in love with my Winter Wonderland sweater and wore that thing till it almost fell off me and or till the weather will not permit wearing it. And I miss it so I decided to knit a summer version of the sweater in a similar colorway but a lighter weight yarn.

I still had more of the periwinkle or robins egg blue yarn left so I decided to tint it. The colors worked well, yes that is more like it. Now to have the time to tint the rest of the hanks and then to knit it all. I may not have time for anything else.

Here I am wearing my Winter Wonderland on my way to Port Ludlow, heading up to the Sock Camp organized by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Tina Newton. Tina is Blue Moon Fiber Arts-Socks That Rock- Sock Summit fame and one of her classes I took was dyeing yarn.

Let me at it I took to this like duck to water. I could have spent the whole time up there dyeing yarn. It was so much fun, not to talk about the beautiful scenery and all the knitting activities Stephanie and Tina dreamed up for us to do. I must confess I did not participate in all of the activities I wanted to relax a bit but what I participated in was a lot of fun.
I am paying very close attention to this, here we are in class with "Cokeyed" looking on Tina demonstrating the technique.

The picture below is a picture I took in Portland at the Sock Summit 2009 with Stephanie, Meg Swansen, Barbara Walker & Tina. And they are doing it again in 2011 back in Portland, I have a feeling this time it will be HUGE. Who would believe that sock knitters from all over the world gather for a "Sock Summit" and I was one of them. I was told that they had 5,000 attendees and they expect to top that next year. And I will probably be one of them.

Here are some pictures from Port Ludlow earlier this year, just for fun. I needed a little mini vacation this morning so I ended up revisiting and got lost in the pictures and good memories. My good friend Leslie who was my roommate and driver in her super car that I love and some scenes of the hotel and the bay.

Tinted cotton

2010-06-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am still experimenting with different techniques. You can not tint cotton with food coloring, I had to resort to Rit Dye. I had some in the laundry who knows why I bought it and who knows how long I've been keeping it in case I wanted to dye something.

The day has come, I used purple and blue and yellow.

Here is the result: "kaleidoscope"

Stash management

2010-06-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Now that I have all these "over dye" possibilities I felt it was time for me to evaluate my stash. Sort of doing a late spring cleaning. I keep my yarn in plastic bins, some are huge and others are smaller. I find that some yarn like cottons are heavy and if I fill up a large plastic box it gets too heavy for me to lift. It's bad when you can't lift your box of yarn.

To my shock I have much more yarn than I thought. The bins number well into the double digits, not triple digits but... ok under a hundred but hovering around the 50's. Compared to some this is huge but I've known other yarnaholics who have more, not that this matters but I thought I'd throw that in there. The storage space is the biggest problem, we just don't have enough "real estate" to house all of our collections. Yes there is more than one collector in my family, I guess it's genetic or magnetic. When you have a lot of yarn management becomes a difficult task so I do not do it that often.

Each season I try and evaluate the leftover from the last winter or summer knitting. In the spring I start gravitating towards the cottons, rayon and silks because the weather starts being too warm to knit on a heavy wool sweater. Also I like to make a new piece to wear according to the season. One of the bins I have is called "Frog it or Finish it". In this bin I found this wonderful summer sweater that I think I started a couple or three years ago. Ok it was in one of the bottom bins and I have not seen it for a while.

Nice little sweater almost done all it needs is a front button band. I now remember that I wanted the button band to match the gusset and the dark green stripes. Now I know I had plenty of this green boucle rayon yarn but where is it? Organizing, labeling, sorting for about 2 weeks now and I am running out of places to look. I know I had some of this yarn..... where is it?

I was talking to my friend Leslie and she said to me oh that's easy the very last place you will look there it will be. And son of a gun she was totally right. I almost gave up on this and was ready to do a redesign and there it was at the bottom of one of the last little boxes I looked at. Small things make me happy but this was one of them.

Now to start knitting, select buttons and finish this sweater the hot weather is around the corner.

Tinting Wool

2010-06-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Tinting wool with food coloring is fun and easy! The first question everybody asks is will it last? Because I just started this and can not tell you first hand I do not know for sure. From my human hair tinting experience I can tell you that I'm pretty sure once the color is deposited in the core shaft of the hair it's there to stay. Some colors may fade faster than others but once the color is set and the water is clear when you rinse it out you are good to go and it will stay and last.

Try it out, it's not messy or toxic and the dye is readily available at the super market. If it tints your hand because you forgot to put on gloves, no worries just do a load of dishes and it's gone. I have been using my crock pot and my microwave oven. I like to use glass dishes because it's just easier to wash them out and see the colors.

Stick to the basic primary colors available red, yellow, blue, and mix colors for shades you want to create, use your imagination let the artist come out. You do not need any special equipment or special yarn. There is one rule you can only tint animal protein fibers with food coloring, wool, mohair, alpaca, cashmere, silk etc. Man made fibers and cottons will not work, we need "hair" to tint. You do not need special "blanks" which is wool that has not been dyed, you can use the "over dye" method. Take a skein of yarn that you have and may not like the color so much and over dye it.

Animal protein fibers only although some blended yarns will work if there is a high percentage of animal fiber mixed in. Oh yes food dye will work on human hair too it helps if your hair is "bleached" up first but if your hair is a light blond or dare I say gray, you can use food coloring to make your hair purple or blue! But I digress.... I used to be a hairdresser .... maybe that is why I'm so fascinated with this process.

How to test the fiber? I use the simplest method the burn test. Carefully burn the end of the strand and if it melts it's man made, if it goes to ash it's organic. How to tell the difference between cotton or wool? The smell will tell you, wool will smell like burnt hair and cotton or rayon will smell like burning paper or wood. I'm sure there are many different ways to test but this is my method and it seems to work pretty well for me. When the yarn is mixed I can sort of tell how much of it melts and how much goes to ash. Test swatch is the answer here.

The method is pretty similar to Kool-Aid dyeing but I find liquid food coloring is easier to mix and control colors. No powder to inhale no little mystery packages and it's cheaper than Kool-Aid packets. I've been buying 8oz bottles for under $3.00 at my local Smart & Final Market. Some people keep meticulous records and formulas but as you may have guessed I'm just not that type. I just jump right in and consider most of it as an art with a sprinkling of science behind it.

For example, my good friend Molly is not the jump right in sort but the type of knitter who will swatch and swatch and research and study and will meticulously keep wonderful records and will follow the exact directions on labels. She invited me over to work on a program for children she is teaching this summer (I'll be her assistant) at the Fairview Library in Santa Monica. She is dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid and teaching the kids to knit.

We had a wonderful time in Molly's kitchen testing out all the colors and fibers.

Molly was measuring labeling and keeping very detailed notes, I was just eyeballing. Hoping that I will remember what I did. Ok my method may not be the best I see that maybe a few labels and some notes may be needed here. I'm off to cutting labels and getting my old tint box that I used for my hairdressing days and keeping records. (Maybe)

There is an article on Knitty describing dyeing with Kool-Aid click here.
http://kathrynivy.com/patterns/extras/dyeing-yarn/ Paas

This is cotton dyed with Rit Dye...... I'll tell you about this method after a few more test runs. I'm very happy with the outcome of this. I crocheted an iPhone and wallet cozy to hang around my neck for those quick access occasions.

Work in progress

2010-05-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ok some of the yarn is hanked. (I'm not really sure yet if this is a real word or not but you knitters out there know what I mean.) And the wool fibers are soaked and waiting for their color bath. Yes I know this is crazy my friend Marla carefully rolled the yarn into nice neat balls of yarn from a hank of yarn. And now I'm unrolling the ball back to a hank of yarn so I can over dye it. Whopie what fun!

I test "swatched", which is something I rarely do. Just like knitting a gauge swatch I'm not too crazy about planning precision, measuring etc. I am of the ilk just to jump right in. Test is in the outcome. Somehow the knitting and fiber angels are with me on this one most of the time it's worked for me. As they say don't try this method at home, my advice is to plan ahead write down the recipe for everything and then follow the pattern or the recipe exactly. Do as I say not as I do.

Here we go, soaking yarn, crock pot ready, sink all clean and shiny ..... let there be color.

Come back for the results, I will post about it I promise.

All tied up and waiting

2010-05-20T11:47:00.001-07:00

I've got some great wool that I've "hanked" up to dye but it's rather time consuming to do this. The part that I really like here is the over dyeing. I have lots of really nice wool but the color is not exactly what I prefer. Why did I buy it? Maybe it was a really good price and I figured I would learn to like it or it was such nice wool that I just loved the fiber.

Either way it sits in my stash and waits for a project. Now that I have discovered over dyeing this has opened up a whole new day on this stash of mine. I have some friends with wonderfully organized yarn collections but my collection I feel is "raggedy dooo"...... some beautiful yarn and then some weird stuff that I just could not pass up.

I am on a mission to organize.... (even I had to crack a smile at this one)..... organize I will. But then again I'm constantly organizing and still end up with too much STUFF!

Then I went to have lunch and knit at a friends house. Oh no.... she is bringing out bags and bags of yarn. I mean big garbage bags FULL! I suddenly see all these "over dye" possibilities! Yes you guessed it more yarn has come to my possession. More hanking, more organization.... but it's such lovely wool.... I'm only doing food coloring so I can only dye protein fibers. (Thank goodness)

I say thank goodness because there is a whole garbage bag full of cotton yarn too... I'm addicted to yarn what can I say. Yes I still have two bags of yarn in the trunk of the car that I'm going to see if my friend Molly will take for her "Fairview Knitting Circle". Molly teaches at The Fairview Library in Santa Monica.

Fairview Branch
2101 Ocean Park Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 458-8681

Planning Ahead

2010-05-13T12:01:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned before on this blog, I belong to a knitting guild and I am the "program" chair person. (I find the "talent" and book the "talent") So far this past month in April for the spring workshop we flew Amy Singer out here from Toronto, Canada. The workshop she gave was "Plug and Play - Design your own lace shawl."
(Amy is the creator of Knitty.com)

Amy and I had a great time visiting Venice Beach. If you have ever walked along the Venice Beach Boardwalk, you know what a fun and what an unusual place it is. I love visitors because it gives me a chance to go down there and act like a tourist. Look at all the "artwork" the streets performers etc. Lots and Lots of "stuff" to see.

Amy and I also searched local Japanese book stores for knitting books. I come to find out that most of the Japanese knitting books have charts that are easy to follow so you do not need to know how to read Japanese. There were some beautiful knitting books we saw. Like this one.

This coming October we are very lucky to have Anna Zilboorg come to teach us. The workshop will be all day Saturday and all day Sunday.

Saturday Workshop:
TWISTED TRAVELLING STITCHES

Austrian twisted travelling stitches create patterns in high relief that resemble woodcarvings. They are easy to do once one has learned a few special techniques (among them, how to interpret the charts) and had a little practice. They can also provide a wonderful base for embroidery.

The class will begin working in the round (since that is easiest with these patterns) making a water bottle cover. Then we’ll go on to flat knitting, with a cell-phone cover that could easily turn into cuffs for an elegant sweater.

Students will need to bring worsted weight yarn and 5 dp or two circular needles. (Dk weight yarn is also okay.)

Sunday Workshop:
Stranded Knitting or STRANDING

Everything you need to know about two-colored knitting will start with how to make a steek and slash it without a sewing machine. Then we’ll make a sun glass case practicing two-handed knitting in the round and carrying one color over long distances. Finally, we’ll knit backwards with one hand and with two, for those times when going in circles cannot be done.

Students will need yarn in two contrasting colors with dp needles.

If by chance you do not know who Anna Zilboorg is, here is a list of her published books on Amazon.

Read an article about Anna on the Knitting Universe site.

How much did you say this cost?

2010-05-11T12:45:00.001-07:00

Is this a typo? I know I did not pay $195 dollars for this book. It is a wonderful book but almost $200 dollars for it? But if you go to amazon.com and search for this book you will see this outrageous price.

I guess it's true, it's out of print and very hard to find. I think I'll treat my $200 dollar book with new respect. I now remember buying this book at one of the Smithsonian Museums. At the "Renwick Gallery" in Washington D.C. What a beautiful Gallery a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Almost right across the street from the White House.

A craft museum, so I went and found a number of knitting books and this book. At the time I paid $24.95 for it and just knew that I would love it even though I had never dyed anything but always wanted to. It was crazy my suitcase weighed a ton from all the books I purchased.

My visit to Washington D.C. was fascinating, I had never visited D.C. before and went there just to see the Museums, the White House and all the American History. I loved it. I went by myself and had a great time visiting the museums and staying as long as I wanted and viewed what I felt like. My hotel was very close to the White House and I was intrigued by it all. Although it look so small especially with those large buildings on either side of the House. Quite frankly I've seen bigger mansions right here in Beverly Hills. But it was still very beautiful and interesting to look at. I walked past it every chance I had.

Seeing and meeting the very strange woman camped across the street Concepcion Picciotto. They say she has been there since 1981. Yes across the street from the White House and living on the street, sleeping on a lounge chair with some kind of makeshift tent. When I asked her about bathing and taking bathroom breaks. (Well I like to know details) She told me that she only leaves to take a half hour break and quickly comes back.

When I asked one of the many guards around if this was legal? Can you just camp on the streets? He was a handsome young man with a Southern Drawl "Mam there are no laws agains Crazy."

But I've digressed from my dyeing yarn activities, here are the "hanked" yarn waiting to be painted.
I've been "hanking"..... maybe that is not the right word or proper English but you know what I mean. It's the reverse of winding the yarn into a ball. I'm unrolling the ball and making it into a "hank".

Colors Gone Wild

2010-05-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

A whole new world opened up to me in fiber arts now that I've discovered the wonderful world of dyeing yarn. I've been fascinated with the process but it kind of scared me and from afar it looked like it was a complicated process.

The dyes, natural, acid, kool-aid, food coloring? What to use and how to use it, most of all where to get it? Kool-Aid is the easiest get but it seemed childish and more of a play thing than really dyeing wool. Then I saw a lady with the most beautiful color mohair shawl. The color was a "Burnt Sienna" in my world a pinky salmon like pink coral. (I'm having trouble trying to describe the exact shade, too bad I did not take a picture.) Pink but not really pink, because I usually do not like pink but this color looked lovely especially on the lady wearing it.

When we chatted about her lovely shawl, ie. what yarn, what color way etc. She told me she had this ugly light beige mohair and she dyed it with Kool-Aid. Wow! Note to self: when I get home I must try Kool-Aid dyeing. I asked the first natural question that comes to mind and the same question people ask me now that I'm dyeing, "Will it fade? Does it wash out?" She told me not yet, and she's washed it once. Also said how often do you wash your shawls anyway? Not that often. Maybe a sweater more but only time will tell how much fading will occour.

Some colors may fade faster than others. Just like some colors grab easier than others, it's all a big experiment. But what fun! Here we go dye all over the outside kitchen, crock pots heating up, yarn hanging & drying...... I'm getting nothing else done.... but having a lot of fun.

The store I went to locally had a very limited range of Kool-Aid flavors but they had a whole range of food coloring. I bought food coloring and could not wait to get home to try this out. Oh yes before I went home I stopped by my local beauty supply and bought 6 tint applicatior bottles. They seemed to be practical for this task, they have ouce markings and a nice little spout to apply the color. If it works for hair it will work for animal hair/wool yarn.

Stay tuned I'm now taking pictures of all the yarn I've dyed....... will share it all later.

Happy dyeing.

Dyeing, knitting, teaching & taking pictures.

2010-05-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

Shawl by Natalie

2010-05-05T09:19:00.001-07:00

Shawl by Natalie, originally uploaded by BananaKnits.

I took a photo class yesterday and boy did I have fun. I'm exhausted today but I've learned some new techniques to photograph knitted projects. Here is the best shot of the day's shooting, my friend Natalie posing with her garter stitch shawl. Natalie calls it "Hollywood Shawl" at least her version of the pattern "Mara". The color is rich and rusty red, looks great on Natalie.

On Natalie's Ravelry page she describes it:

"This shawl is Mara-inspired but in the end bears no resemblance to the pattern. I added eyelet rows to lighten it up and went for a ruffled edge rather than the ribbed edge."

The pattern is available free "Mara"

I love dyeing yarn.

2010-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

I took a class from Tina Newton and we dyed sock yarn. I love dyeing yarn. I want to do more. This could be a slippery slope for a new way to have fun. Just look at how I'm concentrating and watching Tina with fascination. (picture from "IrishGirlieKnits")

All I can say is WOW

2010-04-26T11:21:00.001-07:00

Way to go Staff Sgt. John Sorich IV

"COURTESY JOHN SORICH. Sgt. John Sorich, 26, of Eden Prairie (far right, closest to the camera) taught 10 of his fellow Army Reserves troops how to knit during their one-year deployment in Iraq. A few of them needed convincing first, but found the skill to be a great stress-reducer"

Read this StarTribune article.

Springtime Knitting

2010-04-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

The weather is warming up and soon it will be too warm to be knitting winter wool. I am now working on a couple of projects for the summer. The first one is "Rainbow Silk Cloud" the name is obvious it is colorful and it does feel light as a cloud.

When I try this on it feels like wearing Cotton Candy. This is the second project I've knit with this type of yarn Mohair and Silk mix and I love the way it's kind of cool and warm at the same time. I know this does not make any sense, how can a sweater be cool and warm too? I don't know but it is. Some things are just magic and this sweater is one of those.

It packs up really small and does not wrinkle and is great for traveling. I have a couple of trips planned this year and look forward to making this sweater part of my travel wardrobe. The pattern I use is from the class I teach "Template Knitting" a basic top down raglan sleeve garter stitch. The class I'm affectionately calling "Gypsy Knitting" and it's a fast, easy knit. I will be teaching this class in May at the Santa Monica Library.

I'm always fascinated how we can make a whole entire garment from string, in this case almost like cob web thin silky mohair "string".

Size 10 needle which makes a lacey fabric and the project knit up very fast. Instant gratification that is always a bonus for me. Because I'm not a monogamous knitter, here is one of the other projects I'm working on. Again the same pattern with different yarn and it makes it look like it's a totally different pattern.

I call this one Molly because the colors remind me of Molly the owl. Who is Molly the owl? Here is the link. There is a couple who love birds in San Marcos California, (a bit South of here). They put up an owl box and waited 2 years for an owl to move in. Molly and McGee moved in Carlos the owner of the box put up a camera and the world started watching Molly sitting on her eggs.

The colors are not showing up the same way as on my monitor but this yarn I got does remind me of the colors Molly has. She is a barn owl and is now a proud mama of 3 Owlettes. It was fascinating to watch these little eggs hatch. Something I've never seen before. Isn't the internet wonderful?

And guess what Carlos who narrates the goings on periodically talked about his wife Donna being a knitter. One day she was off to her stitch n bitch group.

I'm progressing nicely with this summer short sleeve cardigan. I've tried it on and it too feels very nice and soft. I think this will be a wonderful little cardigan for the summer. Size 5 needle the yarn doubled and is still cob web thin but it makes a wonderful light weight fabric.

I bought the yarn a a wonderful little store in Manhattan Beach, California.

Srpingtime Haircut

2010-04-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Clara Parkes you're amazing

2010-04-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

I really like Clara Parkes, she is a wonderful writer and so very knowledgeable about fiber and such. She is an author of several books and the creator of Knitter's Review. Before Ravelry and still today a wonderful fun place for knitters to chat and share information.

Check out her reviews on knitting related things like tools, events, shops, new books etc. New this week a great article about Yarn from Ducks! Softer than Cashmere! Wow I want some.

Fiber Preview: Quakmere

Clara Parkes left her career in San Francisco's booming high-tech industry to pursue her love of knitting. She now lives on the coast of Maine in a farm house full of fleece, fiber, and yarn. Best-selling author of The Knitter's Book of Yarn (Potter Craft, October 2007), she is the publisher of the top-ten knitting website KnittersReview.com, and a frequent contributor to Interweave Knits and Twist Collective.

The Knitter's Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving This Most Fabulous Fiber