tiny spindle

Its been a little over a year since I started this blog and I am getting close to calling it quits.   It has served its function for me - I am now in the habit of working on my projects on a daily basis.  Lately I've been working more on larger, more time consuming projects that don't really lend themselves to daily posting.
A brief overview of my current projects:
A raglan sweater, basic socks, fabric project bags and pet beds (to be donated to the local animal shelter).  And on the spinning front, I recently purchased a Jenkins kuchula - the cutest little spindle ever :)

scrappy chevron socks

Finished up my latest project today - a pair of scrappy chevron patterned socks.

over-dyeing yarn

the orange/brown wool

I bought some nice merino wool on special a few...um maybe about 10 years ago.  Love everything about it except the color, and the color I really hate.  I have never liked orange and brown together.  I have to assume that this was just too good of a deal to pass up, such a good deal that it has been in a box for 10 years...

the over-dyed wool

Anyway I  decided to give it a face lift and over-dye it with some Kool-aid (how-to here).  For each 50 gram skein I used 2 packs of fruit punch to get a dark red (with a bit of brown) color.  Hopefully it is now improved enough that I will actually use it.

one row lace scarf

Today I finished up a simple knit scarf - a one row lace scarf.  I like the soothing meditative nature of  this pattern.

lemon poppy seed muffins

A couple of weeks ago I bought some Heartstone clay glazed muffin bakers and today I put them to the test.  I followed one of the recipes from the booklet that came with the bakers.  My husband like how they turned out - I thought the bottoms were a bit too spongey.

eco duo shawlette

unblocked

Finished up this shawlette today - the pattern is Ka'ana Shawlette by Jennifer Weissman and I knit it out of Cascade Eco Duo.  I went with this yarn because I had it and I'm in a stash busting mode, however I'm not sure if I like this yarn for this pattern.  It is a bit too thick and heavy for a shawl.  It still needs to be blocked so hopefully that will help open it up a bit.

the blocked shawl

ETA:  the shawl is now blocked and it did open up slightly.

grey footies

Finished up a pair of footies (or no-shows as he likes to call them) for my husband today.

green headband

green Elisbeth headband

I decided I needed just 1 more headband....   

handspun cvm wool

My latest handspun -50 grams of 2-ply CVM wool.  This is a really nice, soft squishy yarn.

Elisbeth headband

Um, yes it is another headband, an Elisbeth headband (pattern designed by Bonne Marie Burns).  I really like how this one turned out.  It ended up being an especially good combination of pattern & yarn.

feather & fan scarf

I finished up the lacy scarf that I've been working on.  It is a feather & fan pattern knit with Kid Mohair Merino 2 ply by Touch Yarns.

blueberry cabled headband

And yet another headband....

calorimetry

Another knitting project for today.  Not a hat this time...nope... it is a headband   :)

kool Aid dyed recycled wool hat

 I decided to dye the remaining wool from my unraveled sweater pink using Kool Aid.  See how to dye with Kool Aid in my previous post.

Being on a bit of a hat binge I knit the pink dyed yarn up into a  bulky reverse ribbed hat.

bulky recycled wool hat

A quick knit hat out of some of the wool that I unraveled from a thrift store sweater last year.

over-dying

before dyeing

Looking through my sock drawer the other day I realized that I had to pairs of socks knit in almost identical yarns.  I decided to try to remedy that by over dying one pair.  I used Kool-Aid as my dye because it is non-toxic, super easy to use, cheap and readily available where I live.  The color is also surprisingly very durable.  To get a moderately intense green I used 3 packages of Lemon Lime.  Now I have a sweet "new" pair of Spartan green socks :)

after dyeing

How to dye with Kool-Aid

The Basic Recipe:

One package of unsweetened Kool-Aid per  1 cup water (about 4 pkgs per 50 grams for fairly intense color)

How to Dye Your Fiber using a Microwave

1. Soak fiber in warm  water  with 2 ounces of vinegar per 1 cup water
2. While it is soaking, make your Kool-Aid solution(s). For each package of Kool-Aid use 3 parts water to one part vinegar.
3. Remove your fiber from the hot water soak. Squeeze out excess water.

4.       Place in the pyrex container.  Pour dye over fiber slowly, being sure that you cover as much of the fiber as possible.

5.       Place container (with fiber) in the microwave and microwave for 2 minutes

6. Let rest for two minutes. If necessary, during this period, you may squish the liquid around again to ensure adequate dye coverage.
7. Check to see if the solution is colorless.
8. If the solution is not colorless, repeat steps 5 & 6 until the solution is colorless.
9. Rinse the fiber thoroughly in water the same temperature as the dye bath. At this point you may want to wash the fiber with liquid dishwashing detergent and rinse thoroughly using the procedure that you normally use for washing yarn.
10. Hang the fiber and let it air dry.

feather & fan scarf

Made some progress on my latest knitting project - a feather & fan scarf made out of lace weight wool.

hot chocolate mix

A few years ago my Dad talked me into converting to a Keurig coffee machine.  My husband doesn't like coffee but he does love hot chocolate so I've been buying him those hot chocolate k-cups.  The cups are a) expensive b) tend to clog the machine if someone isn't careful to run hot water afterwards c) wastes hot water and d) make mediocre hot chocolate.  I'm not sure why but today it finally occurred to me that using a hot chocolate mix and using the machine for hot water to make the hot chocolate would be a better way to go.  Even better (ie - cheaper) would be to make the mix myself with ingredients that  I already had on hand.  Yep, definitely better - husband is happy with his new hot chocolate and I'm happy that it is cheaper & better tasting.

Hot Chocolate Mix
2 cups powdered milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered coffee creamer
1/2 cup baking cocoa

Mix all ingredients well.  To make, add 1/4 cup of mix into bottom of mug and pour 1 large cup of water over.  Stir well.

Dutch oven bread

my "new" Dutch cast iron oven

Lately I've been numerous posts and recipes for making bread in a cast iron Dutch oven but I didn't have one and wasn't willing to fork over the $$$ just to try making bread in one.  A few days ago I came across this one in a thrift store so of course I bought it.  I'm not sure who makes it , it only says "Made in France" but it looks to be pretty heavy duty (and it is blue - double bonus).

For my first bread attempt I followed the recipe for
Easy Peasy Rustic Bread on the Peanut butter & dill pickles blog.  I am very happy with how this turned out and it truly was super easy :)

pretty thing cowl

Finished up my Pretty Thing cowl today.  I knit this out of 100% Merino Sock yarn by Knitsch Yarns following the pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the yarn harlot).  I originally bought this pattern about 2 years ago and have been meaning to make it ever since but it just kept getting bumped down by other projects.  However, it may be added right back into the queue.  I like it so much I think I need another one.

gloves

Finished up my gloves, they may not be pretty but they are very warm and cozy.

handspun gloves

Started a new knitting project today - gloves out of some of my handspun yarn.

Finished up my latest socks - stranded striped socks.  I like how the self-striping yarn works with the stranded pattern.

sock knitting

Today I worked on my latest socks - stranded striped socks.

Reverse Rice Stitch Cowl

Made a cowl/neck warmer today.  I followed the pattern by by Angela Baldi from Pumpkin Pie Baby blog.  I like how this pattern stitch looks in the yarn I used - Kentucky Blue Fiber Company's 2ply sport weight Alpaca/ Merino.

hurricane hat no 2

Today I tried another version of the hurricane hat.  For this one I used some handspun yarn that I purchased from  Wonder Why Alpaca Farm, LLC last year at Sandhill Crane Vineyards’ Winter Wine & Wool Festival.  For this one I went with a k3 p1 ribbing which I like better than the k2p2 on my first hurricane hat.

handspun hurricane hat

Knit my first project using my own handspun yarn - a hurricane hat following the instructions at http://lovehestia.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/hurricane-hat-pattern/.  I like how it looks with the handspun yarn although I think a rolled edge would have looked better with this yarn instead of the ribbing.

recycled cashmere

Today I wound together strands of cashmere that I unraveled from some old sweaters into plying balls.  Not sure if I like the color - I might over-dye these with some Kool-aid after I've plied them on my wheel.

stranded striping socks

Started a new pair of socks - stranded with striping yarn.  I like how this yarn looks with a simple stripe pattern however I might change up the pattern a bit once I get to the cuffs.

snazzy argyles Christmas stocking

Finished up my stocking today.  I like how it turned out. I have to say it is bigger than I had envisioned, I may end up felting it down a bit.

Turned the heel and my stocking.  The argyle pattern is a little slow going but I do like how it is looking so far.

Christmas stocking

Every Christmas I get to thinking that I should make a couple of Christmas stockings for me and my husband and that is about as far as I get.  This year I am actually going to make them.  I cast on this morning and have about 4" knit on the first one.  I am following the Snazzy Argyles pattern by Linda Daniels from the book  Knit Christmas Stockings! 19 Patterns for Stockings & Ornaments.

sock knitting

Finished my first pair of socks for the new year.  I like how they turned out, however if I hadn't run out of black yarn I would have made the cuffs longer.

ear-flap hat

Today's project was an ear-flap hat for one of my little nieces.  I think it turned out cute.

seed stitch headband

A quick little headband that I made for my sister today.

first socks of 2013

Started my fist pair of socks for 2013 - in a  "goat's eye" stitch pattern following Wendy Johnson's basic gusset heel sock pattern.

recycled yarn

Today I spun up some strands of cob-weight yarn that I unraveled from some old sweaters.  Before plying them on my wheel I first wound them together into a plying ball to make them easier to manage.  The resulting yarn is nice (it is mostly cashmere) even if it is a bit Ohio State-ish in color.

handspun llama/wool

I bought a new slow whorl for my spinning wheel.  Today I gave it a whorl ,and used it to loosely ply together  a strand of llama and a strand of commercial wool.  I wanted to ply it loosely in order to try to keep the finished yarn as soft as possible.  I still need to set the twist but it seems to have worked.

I decided to start the new year by finishing up some projects that have been languishing for awhile.  First up is a pair of socks that I started for my sister about 1 1/2 years ago.  I am knitting them out of bamboo yarn.  This yarn is not exactly enjoyable to work with - it is splity, slippery and has no give to it.  Ugg.  I have since restarting on them, turned the heels and knit about 3" of the cuffs.  Tomorrow I'll decide if 3" cuffs are good enough or if they need to be a little longer.  Tonight 3" looks good enough but that may be because I'm ready to just be done with them.