KnotAnotherHat posted this:
Is there any way to adapt the edge of the snowdrop and utilize the type of finished edge that the PNW uses?
I think it is a really good idea. I had a similar idea, so I'm going to look at the pattern and see if it is just a matter of casting on more sts or something simple. It would be really awesome if that was the big difference.
Update: Won't work. The PNW shawl goes from the top out (middle-out?) and the snowdrop goes from the bottom up. I am leaning more toward the snowdrop now b/c it would be different than Blair's.
~Planting little vines of fiber goodness~
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Shawl Debate
This is my big shawl debate. I like the looks of both of the shawls. They are both really pretty and I think that I would use them. The trouble comes down to that The Snowdrop Shawl has 218 sts picked up on each side of the shawl and the instructions are a little vague. The Pacific Northwest shawl has the same sort of border to it, but no pickup, it is all knit at the same time. Then there is that Blair is doing the Pacific Northwest Shawl. So, in theory, I could end up with both shawls in the end instead of the same one in two different colors. Then Sarah pointed out that if we both worked on the same shawl then we could help one another. This is really driving me crazy trying to make a decision. I am sure that I will have one by the 15th when the KAL begins, but please give me your opinions and see if we can figure this out.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Pacific Northwest Shawl Update
I just couldn't stand it any longer. I looked and looked at the brown yarn and finally my heart said no I would never wear a brown shawl. So, I started thinking about what color I would like. I love purple, but my favorite one shot dye is Raspberry. It just is so pretty and so so raspberry that I think I could picture myself wrapped up in a warm raspberry shawl. So this is what I did to the yarn and just let me say that Knit Picks yarn just loves to be dyed. So here goes:
Here is the brown yarn in all it's glory. It is the one on the left. The yarn on the right is the alpaca that was left over from my Knitting Olympics Project for my husband. I was thinking lace socks, but I am now pretty much convinced that there isn't enough so I am now thinking lace cuffs I just haven't picked a pattern yet.
So, into the dye pot it goes. I believe, from endless amounts of dye classes in college, that if you put the yarn in room temperature water and slowly heat it up it is less of a shock to the yarn. Thus it won't felt (This is the theory). Also warming up the fibers makes them more open and thus more receptive to taking in dye.
I mix the dye with a bit of the hot to just about boiling water to make it easier to mix in with the dye. I started with a 1/4 tsp of dye to see what would happen. Of course my professor would faint at the idea that I haven't weighed the goods, done a sample, etc...but where is the fun in that? Then I pour the dye mixture into the dyepot and mix it thoroughly around so that it will dye the skeins evenly. (Also Theoretical) The nice stick is a part of one of my grandmother's old mops that just happened to be handy =)
I didn't like the look of it when I mixed in that first 1/4 tsp. It is just a bit too pale, especially if you consider that it will lighten up a bit when it dries. So, I added another 1/2 tsp to the pot to make sure that it would really turn out a nice dark raspberry color.
Ah, there we go, a much better color. By the way, in case you haven't heard it enough, I just love One Shot dyes. No vinegar to add, no nothing. Just add the nice hot water and cook. I let the water get to just about boiling. I stirred quite a bit too, which is also suppose to be a no no, but even dyeing requires stirring and a lack of felting requires no stirring. So, I compromised and stirred carefully. How this is different from regular stirring I have no idea, but somehow it works. I let the skeins sit in the dyepot overnight while the water cooled to pick up the most amount of dye possible. Then I carefully wrung them out and hung them up to dry.
Here are the results. Three lovely skeins of raspberry goodness all ready for a nice shawl pattern. (sorry about the blurry picture they wouldn't cooperate). They are a little felted, but thankfully they balled up nicely and didn't give me any trouble. I am now debating about the pattern. I know the pattern I got was for The Snowdrop Shawl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but when reading the pattern I noticed that part of it requires picking up 218 sts on just one side of the shawl and then another 218 sts up the other side. Now, I am an experienced knitter, but that is just a bit daunting. So, I am debating whether I will switch to the Pacific Northwest Shawl with my husband, since he got the pattern this week and is planning on doing that. Hmm....decisions, decisions.
Here is the brown yarn in all it's glory. It is the one on the left. The yarn on the right is the alpaca that was left over from my Knitting Olympics Project for my husband. I was thinking lace socks, but I am now pretty much convinced that there isn't enough so I am now thinking lace cuffs I just haven't picked a pattern yet.
So, into the dye pot it goes. I believe, from endless amounts of dye classes in college, that if you put the yarn in room temperature water and slowly heat it up it is less of a shock to the yarn. Thus it won't felt (This is the theory). Also warming up the fibers makes them more open and thus more receptive to taking in dye.
I mix the dye with a bit of the hot to just about boiling water to make it easier to mix in with the dye. I started with a 1/4 tsp of dye to see what would happen. Of course my professor would faint at the idea that I haven't weighed the goods, done a sample, etc...but where is the fun in that? Then I pour the dye mixture into the dyepot and mix it thoroughly around so that it will dye the skeins evenly. (Also Theoretical) The nice stick is a part of one of my grandmother's old mops that just happened to be handy =)
I didn't like the look of it when I mixed in that first 1/4 tsp. It is just a bit too pale, especially if you consider that it will lighten up a bit when it dries. So, I added another 1/2 tsp to the pot to make sure that it would really turn out a nice dark raspberry color.
Ah, there we go, a much better color. By the way, in case you haven't heard it enough, I just love One Shot dyes. No vinegar to add, no nothing. Just add the nice hot water and cook. I let the water get to just about boiling. I stirred quite a bit too, which is also suppose to be a no no, but even dyeing requires stirring and a lack of felting requires no stirring. So, I compromised and stirred carefully. How this is different from regular stirring I have no idea, but somehow it works. I let the skeins sit in the dyepot overnight while the water cooled to pick up the most amount of dye possible. Then I carefully wrung them out and hung them up to dry.
Here are the results. Three lovely skeins of raspberry goodness all ready for a nice shawl pattern. (sorry about the blurry picture they wouldn't cooperate). They are a little felted, but thankfully they balled up nicely and didn't give me any trouble. I am now debating about the pattern. I know the pattern I got was for The Snowdrop Shawl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but when reading the pattern I noticed that part of it requires picking up 218 sts on just one side of the shawl and then another 218 sts up the other side. Now, I am an experienced knitter, but that is just a bit daunting. So, I am debating whether I will switch to the Pacific Northwest Shawl with my husband, since he got the pattern this week and is planning on doing that. Hmm....decisions, decisions.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Updates and such
Well, our internet has been going in and out lately, which has been terribly sad. For more details you can check out my husband's blog with all of the technical details. I think I might spread out my updates so as not to overwhelm myself with all that is going on. I have sockaploooza updates and updates for the shawl knit-a-long as well. They will be coming I promise. Today's update will be my yarn that is down at Knot Another Hat. Which is selling out at an incredible rate. The last yarn that I posted up is already gone, which is super awesome, but it is keeping me really busy. I have also gotten compliments from two completely different people from two completely different instances saying that my handspun was the best they had ever seen. I am quite proud of this. *happy dance*
This yarn is named Monet's Garden because of all of its pretty blues, greens, and purples. I really loved spinning it and I only wish I had more since it was something that I dyed with my husband. I just love surprises like this one and I loved how it spun all lumpy. I just let it do what it wanted to and I was quite happy with the result.
This is my most expensive yarn so far. I picked up the fiber at The Abernathy Grange Sale from Fox Hollow Farm and Fiber that I used to go visit while I still lived in Eugene. It is a mix of Cormo Wool, Mohair, and Angora. It has a pretty halo that is hard to see when not in person. This is also a yarn that wanted to be lumpy, so I let it. I named it Watermelon Patch.
This yarn is named Monet's Garden because of all of its pretty blues, greens, and purples. I really loved spinning it and I only wish I had more since it was something that I dyed with my husband. I just love surprises like this one and I loved how it spun all lumpy. I just let it do what it wanted to and I was quite happy with the result.
This is my most expensive yarn so far. I picked up the fiber at The Abernathy Grange Sale from Fox Hollow Farm and Fiber that I used to go visit while I still lived in Eugene. It is a mix of Cormo Wool, Mohair, and Angora. It has a pretty halo that is hard to see when not in person. This is also a yarn that wanted to be lumpy, so I let it. I named it Watermelon Patch.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Socks
Lavendersheep will soon (hopefully) have another pair of socks. Just working on the gauge swatch at the moment. They'll be on self-striping yarn, using two circulars. I love using two circs.
Monday, April 03, 2006
New addition
After figuring out how to do a selection box on my blog, Lavendersheep asked me to do similar on hers. And below you will find a feast of selection boxage for your enjoyment.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Buttons and Hopefully an Updated Blog
I just thought I would clean up my blog a little bit and post new buttons and clear away old buttons. It just feels so sad to move away the Knitting Olympic buttons. I know it has been over for some time, so now I actually have to clear them out. The new buttons are below:
This button is for Cute Overload which I have to get a daily dose. I just love them and I loved that they got an uber cute button up.
This button is for Cast-On. I usually can't wait for each new episodes and it sounds really professional. I was so overjoyed when I found out that one of our local knitters, that owns alpacas (every knitters aspiration) and provides yarn for Knot Another Hat, actually knew Brenda Dayne when she lived in Portland and knew the Twisted Sisters from Northwest Wools. I mean we are only about an hour from Portland, but it still was really uber cool.
The last button up is for the Pacific Northwest Lace Shawl KAL. All it requires is a lace shawl with a northwest theme. Like the yarn I am going to use is called Oregon Coast from knitpicks. Though I am thinking that I might dye it. It may change to Oregon Grape, our state flower. I will probably decide pretty soon since the KAL starts on the 15th.
This button is for Cute Overload which I have to get a daily dose. I just love them and I loved that they got an uber cute button up.
This button is for Cast-On. I usually can't wait for each new episodes and it sounds really professional. I was so overjoyed when I found out that one of our local knitters, that owns alpacas (every knitters aspiration) and provides yarn for Knot Another Hat, actually knew Brenda Dayne when she lived in Portland and knew the Twisted Sisters from Northwest Wools. I mean we are only about an hour from Portland, but it still was really uber cool.
The last button up is for the Pacific Northwest Lace Shawl KAL. All it requires is a lace shawl with a northwest theme. Like the yarn I am going to use is called Oregon Coast from knitpicks. Though I am thinking that I might dye it. It may change to Oregon Grape, our state flower. I will probably decide pretty soon since the KAL starts on the 15th.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Long exhausting week
Well, Asher headed off yesterday after a very exhausting week. I think I have been more exhausted this week than I have in a long time and that is including the three days that mom and I spent pulling up the carpet and making the room presentable for Asher's visit. In my mind I pictured this semi-quiet week with lots of rest and company. All of that changed when Blair lost his job b/c then we had transportation.
So, Saturday we drove all the way down to Albany to pick her up, which is a 2 hour drive one way. Then Sunday, we went out to the Foothills Yarn and down to Knot Another Hat for my class. Monday we went to Portland and went all over the place. I finally got to go to Lint which I have heard quite a bit about and is a really awesome yarn store. It has a really nice seating area and plenty of books and yarn. Then I got to tour Pendleton's design department thanks to a friend from college whose mother works there. It was truly awesome. My only regret is that my husband didn't get to go because he would have loved all the techie aspects of it, such as their computer design process and a printer that prints out clothing patterns and cuts them out at the same time (my favorite). We had a nice lunch and then headed down to a lavender soap shop (sorry have no idea how to spell it) that Asher wanted to visit desperately and that she visited back when we were travelling through France. Unfortunately it gave me a headache so I went and sat out on the bench with Opus (the friend with a mother at Pendleton). Then we all ventured over to Knit Purl and I finally got to look through a copy of Sensational Socks, unfortunately I was completely off budget for the month, but it is on my list of really good books, as is One Skein that I got to look at while at Lint. I was so exhausted by that point and I could tell that my husband was too, probably really bored too since he got to mainly babysit the car. He has the patience of a saint! I was really hoping that the rest of the week would be much more toned down, but I think we ran our legs off just about everyday. Tuesday we went down to KAH again since it is the day I usually hang out there and I had a class that night. I was so happy with my class since the person already knew how to knit so I just got to goof off and show her extra things like ssk's and m1's (woohoo!). Wednesday we went and watched anime at my parents, which at least was a little restful. Thursday Asher wanted to see more of the landscape so we trekked all the way up to Government Camp where there was plenty of snow. It was a nice day, kinda springy feeling. It really is nice to live in an area where there can be snow found all the year round as well as beaches to go play on. Friday we saw Asher off to the train, where her family ended up picking her up at. Blair and I got to come home to a quiet house and are now getting back on track towards job hunting and ebaying (ie. life in general... woohoo!).
So, Saturday we drove all the way down to Albany to pick her up, which is a 2 hour drive one way. Then Sunday, we went out to the Foothills Yarn and down to Knot Another Hat for my class. Monday we went to Portland and went all over the place. I finally got to go to Lint which I have heard quite a bit about and is a really awesome yarn store. It has a really nice seating area and plenty of books and yarn. Then I got to tour Pendleton's design department thanks to a friend from college whose mother works there. It was truly awesome. My only regret is that my husband didn't get to go because he would have loved all the techie aspects of it, such as their computer design process and a printer that prints out clothing patterns and cuts them out at the same time (my favorite). We had a nice lunch and then headed down to a lavender soap shop (sorry have no idea how to spell it) that Asher wanted to visit desperately and that she visited back when we were travelling through France. Unfortunately it gave me a headache so I went and sat out on the bench with Opus (the friend with a mother at Pendleton). Then we all ventured over to Knit Purl and I finally got to look through a copy of Sensational Socks, unfortunately I was completely off budget for the month, but it is on my list of really good books, as is One Skein that I got to look at while at Lint. I was so exhausted by that point and I could tell that my husband was too, probably really bored too since he got to mainly babysit the car. He has the patience of a saint! I was really hoping that the rest of the week would be much more toned down, but I think we ran our legs off just about everyday. Tuesday we went down to KAH again since it is the day I usually hang out there and I had a class that night. I was so happy with my class since the person already knew how to knit so I just got to goof off and show her extra things like ssk's and m1's (woohoo!). Wednesday we went and watched anime at my parents, which at least was a little restful. Thursday Asher wanted to see more of the landscape so we trekked all the way up to Government Camp where there was plenty of snow. It was a nice day, kinda springy feeling. It really is nice to live in an area where there can be snow found all the year round as well as beaches to go play on. Friday we saw Asher off to the train, where her family ended up picking her up at. Blair and I got to come home to a quiet house and are now getting back on track towards job hunting and ebaying (ie. life in general... woohoo!).
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