New Favorite "Toy"

Ok, ok, so I haven't posted in MONTHS. Whatever...today I found that Jacquard has a new dye for wool, etc. It is like RIT dye, but comes in a less-mess dissolvable packet. I'll let you know if it successfully dyes the wool yarn...

Close Enough

It's done except for the blocking. I picked up buttons yesterday at Uncommon Threads in Los Altos. They were very helpful there, and they have great buttons.

The neckline of this sweater is wider than it looks here, but the hanger makes it narrow. It is really a very cute sweater!

Too Darn Hot!

It's been a week. At the beginning, I wasn't feeling well and now it's hot. Very hot. Too hot to do much but sit quietly in the air conditioning. OK, and knit a bit and prepare for the big Los Gatos garage sale tomorrow.
But mostly sit quietly...

Dilemma

I know I want to give this project to my mom for Mothers Day, but I don't know what form. Pillow? Square or round? Wall hanging? I just don't know...


The technique used is rug punching -- using a punch rather than a hook to put the wool in the base fabric. It was quick and easy, and I love the result! You can use fabric strips or yarn to create your project.

Feather & Fan Cardigan

Almost done! Maybe it was agressive blocking, but the top turned out to be a little long, so I had to make the bottom half longer to balance it. That's fine because I'm tall anyway, but it used more yarn than expected.

I really love the yarn and the style of the sweater. I'm in a hurry to finish it, but I need to find some great buttons.

Something bad happened...

to my Soft Linen Feather and Fan Cardigan by Pam Allen (the link is to Ravelry). If I look at the photo I took before starting the body of the sweater, I can see the problem...NOW. Why couldn't I see it before I knit 12 inches of body?? So I ripped out the body, undid the 3-needle bind off up the back, and ripped back to where the shoulder increases end. At least I didn't have to unsew the underarm/side seam.

I am back working on the body, and the fronts match this time. I think I left out repeats between the shoulder and the neckline beginning, because the sleeves are the same length, and the "waist" is the same on both sides, but the neckline is definitely off.

C'est la vie. Knit and learn. *sigh* Here is the official pattern information: Soft Linen Feather and Fan Cardigan

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.

http://marniemaclean.com

Take this quiz!

Finished Blackboard

This is the blackboard finished. I love the way it turned out and it functions perfectly! And Kelly had hours of fun drawing and writing on it.

Tangerine Sorbet

Why do all of these hand-dyes remind me of fruit? This was a natural skein of Araucania Nature Wool Worsted dyed with two packets of Lemonade Kool-Aid and two packets of Orange Kool-Aid. It smelled great! And the color is pretty, too.

Pattern: Seamless Baby Kimono, a free pattern by Jacki Kelly

Modification: I did not decrease the number of stitches for the sleeve cuffs because I like the flared kimono look. For some reason, I didn’t have enough yarn for large ties, so I made little loops for buttons to hold the sides closed.

Plum Clafoutis

Skein #2: Louet Sportweight dyed with Gaywools dye Plum and Bull Oak. I just improvised this top-down baby cardigan to knit in one piece and I'm pretty pleased overall.

Berries & Cream

And now for a short post about the first improvised one-skein sweater...I am not totally pleased with how the dyeing turned out. This is Gaywools Cranberry and Salmon, using the dip-dye method. Somehow some purple splotches of undissolved dye got in there, too.

About the sweater: it is done top-down in one piece with an opening along one of the raglans to allow easy entry. At first I thought it was a tad long, but I'm coming to terms with the length, and it's not a bad little sweater after all.

Kai Cable Sweater

OK. Time to write about the little sweaters made from one-skein each hand-dyed. The first was the Kai Cable Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding. The yarn is Louet Riverstone dyed with Gaywools "Mulberry". Making the smallest size, I squeaked by with a smidge of yarn left over.

Latest Project

That's a silly title, because each project is the latest until the next starts...anyway, today's project in process:
I got a great deal on the frame "as is" at University Art. It is a little bigger than I wanted (at 24" x 30") but you can always use a bigger chalkboard. 'cause that's what it's for: a "princess" chalkboard. I have the blackboard spray paint, I just need to get some masonite to put it on and frame it up. So cute! I saw it in a workshop in Mary Englebreit's Home magazine and wanted to try making one.

Cupcake Cookbook

As soon as I saw this book, I had to have it! I saw the article about the dog cupcakes in Women's Day at the eye doctor's office, right before one of my cake classes. Then I saw the book at Books Inc. in Palo Alto. There is a website and blog for those who can't get enough!

I certainly can't wait to try out some of the designs.

Cake Decorating 101

Here are the results of my first cake decorating course, and why I'm not taking the next series.
Actually, it was a good experience. And now that I have 6" and 7" cake pans, I probably will make and decorate little cakes.

Blue Monday

Well, I haven't done much dyeing lately because I've been too busy trying to figure out what to do with the yarn I have. So far, the two skeins of Louet Sportweight Merino have become baby sweaters, along with the Mulberry skein of Louet Riverstone. That's 3 sweaters total.


However, I did order two sweaters from J.Jill because they were on sale and knit at a gauge I never would make. One of them arrived in a horrible shade of chartreuse; you never really know what shade you will get, some are nice, some are not. This was a NOT. So I dyed it with RIT dye Denim Blue. See the before and after.

Sportweight Dyed

Well, I can tell which skein I used Bull Oak on, but the other colors are hard to pick out -- especially Cranberry from Plum. I think I can tell which is Salmon. Next time I'll be more careful.

I don't know that I am completely happy with my dip-dyeing experiment, but I'm going to make a sweater out of Natural Knits for Babies & Moms -- the textured, guernsey-style one.

I'm going to make the Kai Cable sweater out of the light worsted hand-dyed yarn.

Gaywool Dye Test #2

Well, I'm trying the Gaywool Dyes with the dip-dyeing technique. I have two skeins brewing in two colors each. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell which color is which. I'm not taking very good notes...but I just want to randomly try things right now.

I also picked up some more Kool-Aid and some food coloring to try.