Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Itchy Yarn and New Projects

This will be a long post. To keep you interested, here is a picture of my cat modeling a scarf. See how he is Not Amused. He thinks the scarf would make a nice blanket for his bed. (this is where stray scarves always end up - cat blankets)

I'm nearing the toe on the second Magic Camo sock. I didn't stay faithful to the socks like I had intended. I knit the first one without breaking for a new project but the second one was interrupted by my youngest nephew's birthday present. It was short notice, and he's a monkey fanatic so I thought to knit him a large plush monkey. The yarn was already picked out from my stash - 2 balls of Bernat Ping Pong in Mocha Madness. I had purchased the yarn last year on a whim, along with 2 balls of Ping Pong in Purple Passion. I had no projects in mind, but I really liked how the yarn looked even though I consider it novelty yarn. I started working on the monkey without any real pattern, just a general idea of how large to make it based off my sock monkey.

Originally I was going to sew him a sock monkey but the socks were nowhere to be found in the middle of summer here and I didn't have time to wait for an online order to be delivered. Cost was also a bit of a factor for me. He's two, and at the age where toys can be destroyed for fun, so spending a lot of money on a gift just isn't practical. I also didn't know I would get to see him for his birthday, hence the short notice on the gift since I thought I would have a lot more time. I might try making the sock monkey for Christmas but we'll see. But let's get back to the yarn...

I've read plenty of comments about this particular yarn, about how it's not ideal for clothes because it can be itchy due to the tinsel in it but it seemed ok enough to use for a toy. The texture felt a little funny to me and made my hands itch a little since I was knitting it quickly (very easy garter stitch since the yarn texture erases any 'fancy' stitches) but I shrugged it off. By the second day my face was itching as well and on the third day I felt itchy all over and was hitting the Benadryl a little too often. I put the knitting away (and I was about 80% done with the toy at this point, I had started seaming it together) and decided to see if it was the yarn making me itch or the weather. After a day or two without the yarn (and a carefully cleaned knitting area to remove extra tinsel) I felt a whole lot better. Went back to the yarn and the itching came back. I'm not allergic to the yarn, but the texture definitely was not friendly to sensitive skin. The downside to this meant I wasn't going to finish the toy because if it makes me itch so much, I really wouldn't want to subject a toddler to that. His skin isn't as finicky as mine is, but I don't want to risk it.

So the monkey body is sitting unstuffed and not quite finished away from other yarn. I will be finding a new home for the 2 balls of purple and the nearly-finished monkey yarn (pseudo-pattern used about a ball and a half). I wouldn't mind trading it for something much softer and nicer (cotton!), but we'll see what happens with that. I might just offer it to my SiL and see if she wants it.

I also started planning a blanket for myself to help use up some of my leftover yarn. I'm going to make a 2-3" border in black then use lots of smaller knit squares for the body of it. I have a decent sized yarn cake of my favorite colorway (striped with tan, brown and dark strawberry) that will be used for the body. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy another skein or two of it to finish the entire thing in this color, or grab the cake of brown/blue/tan and mix the squares up. I haven't picked any particular pattern for the squares either, a patchwork of different styles might be nice since it would give me the chance to learn them without the commitment of a massive project.

In thanks for reading the whole thing, here's some yarn pr0n. I have six balls of the now discontinued Simple Stripes from Knit Picks (2 each of 3 colorways) in my stash. They're all destined for socks, but that is still awhile off. For now they're sitting in a colorful row in the drawer. I'm anxious to get some of the new Knit Picks striped yarn Felici but I'm not buying new yarn for awhile.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

More Campfire

This lovely skein of yarn is worsted weight from Hello Yarn dyed in the colorway Campfire Marshmallow for a custom order. Personally I think it turned out better than the original, the brown is deeper and there's a lot more variety to the orange. (flame yellow in some places, pulpy orange in others) That's where the beauty of the yarn lies - the way the orange appears to 'flicker' as it's knit up. The turnaround time on this yarn was fast - the base yarn arrived here over the weekend and it left this afternoon for its new home. Hello Yarn has some very beautiful yarn and it worth checking out, the hank that arrived here was fluffy and held onto the dye very well.

I did dye a few other skeins in the last week, one being this bright bundle called 'Sunny Day'. (which is still available in the shop) It's been slow in the shop lately, there are 18 skeins listed right now in some fantastic colors just waiting. I won't be ordering new yarn until some of the current stock sells, but I did keep two skeins undyed in case someone has a request.

It's full on summer here, which means 95F+ heat (heat index of 100F+) and humidity of 90% or more and no sign of rain. Ideal weather for doing absolutely nothing.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Glee!

My Ravelry invite came today and I've been busy organizing my needles and stash so I can add them all. There are tons of pictures to take for it so I will be fairly busy with it for a few days. The yarn to the left is Iced, and is listed in the shop.

I'm tempted to knit a quick hat today for my trip outside later but that means less time on Ravelry! Why would I do this? Well, yesterday I dyed my hair. I did a test swatch and mixed everything as directed. The swatch looked good and matched the color on the box exactly. Fantastic, I thought, because the box had a very deep and rich henna red on it. I thought it would be a deep cherry brown, natural-ish looking and vibrant. So I put it in my hair, let it sit for the recommended 40 minutes and washed it out. Then I caught a glimpse of it in the mirror.

I HAVE CLOWN HAIR.

I've been dying my hair for a long time, so it's not user error in this case. The rich dark color apparently turned into a watery neon carrot color. I expected my roots to be a little brighter since they're blonde naturally but I wasn't expecting carrot. Uneven carrot at that. Parts of my hair are barely dyed, some parts are neon and some are just weird. Why the swatch looked fine but the rest didn't I do not know. I do, however, know that this color is not acceptable and I will have to cover it with something much darker (and not red). I've had hair color "break" only once before, maybe eight years ago. I dyed it jet black and ended up with green, gray and purple-ish sludge color.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

More Yarn


I listed two more hanks, one called Caramel Apples and the other Cherry Cobbler. (which is to the right) They're both available, as is the Lilacs yarn. I have three more that are being prepared for tomorrow as well for my one year anniversary on Etsy. The new ones I wound into yarn cakes to show of the colors. I still have five more skeins to dye, but I'm going to take a day off from it and relax before I jump into it. I have a few ideas of what to do with them, and I'm excited about it.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Lilacs And Beauty Rituals

First the yarn, then the real life rambles.

This perky little hank is called Lilacs and it's up in my shop right now. It's 100% Merino wool and the picture just does not do it justice. I have a box of Merino that will be dyed and posted over the next few days, which is a break from my usual Peruvian. I decided I needed the break from it - I love the twisty way Peruvian knits up but it hasn't been all that popular lately. For now the hanks will be sold as is (meaning they haven't been reskeined after the dye process) with the offer of free center pull ball winding because my shoulders really need a rest. I overdid it last time I dyed yarn and it's taken me a bit too long to bounce back from it. I wind skeins by hand and I got overexcited last time and strained the muscles a bit, and when you already have iffy back/shoulder muscles that isn't a good thing. I do have a very hefty 50% off coupon for JoAnns that I will be using for my very first swift as soon as I get a few more sale. Unless of course, someone wants to trade yarn for a swift!

My one year anniversary on Etsy is Thursday, and I'm trying to cook up some specials for it so keep watching the shop. Right now though I'm working on two more skeins - one brown and red striped and the other tan, white and red striped.

I'm still working on the magic camo sock. The finished one has been worn by itself by the recipient and it's fairly comical to see them shuffle around with just one sock. (presumably to encourage me to hurry up on the other so their poor toes don't freeze) Admittedly I haven't done a lot of knitting in the last few days like I had planned - I was busy most of Saturday getting a makeover and then spent Sunday and Monday sick because my stylist had a cold. The makeover was... interesting. My hair looks great, there's no doubt about it but the whole place made me nervous - and very self conscious. It's a large open salon, and I'm not ashamed to admit that large open indoor areas make me just as nervous as small, cramped areas. I showed the girl the style that someone had recommended for me and said that I don't like it at all because it's boring. (it was basically a slightly shorter version of the haircut I already had, but with huge elementary school bangs) She agreed and said it wouldn't look good on me anyway. We found a choppy cut that keeps my hair long but a little less grade school and a lot more in the way of "professional hot".

I don't like to put a lot of time into my hairstyle on a daily basis. Most days I just want to wash it and let it air dry, and thankfully the new style lets me get away with that. If I want it to be more fluffy and tousled, a quick blow dry and some product and I have it. I am now convinced though that the abundance of mirrors and harsh lighting are there to make you feel obligated to buy makeup and other products to help you look better because let me tell you, in that lighting, I looked awful. I didn't wear makeup since I knew I would be getting a facial but even without makeup I look fine. Not there. My skin looked washed out and splotchy, and I definitely looked about 20lbs heavier than I am. It's no wonder most of the people there had on so much freaking makeup. One of the other stylists had so much pasted on that if she smiled you could see deep cracks in it.

I wasn't a fan of the facial, and it's not something I want to repeat. I asked to inspect all products before they touched me in case there was something I'm allergic to in them and the girl agreed happily. The facial products... they just smelled bad. I go out of my way to use shampoo and soap etc that has as little scent as possible so why would I want my face reeking of a million kinds of flowers? I've had to toss a dozen bottles of shampoo and conditioner over scent - it might smell ok in the bottle but if my hair stinks all day like it, it has to go because it gets overwhelming. I'd just buy all natural shampoo and product but they almost always have things in it I can't use (or they smell awful). I don't use the calendula deodorant I bought for the same reason - it smells like sweat when I put it on. Why bother with deodorant when it makes me smell like I've been sweating all day! Never fear though - I do use antiperspirant/deodorant.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Things To Do

The next batch of yarn is due next week. It's been sitting at the post office for a day or so, and they haven't delivered it yet. It would be nice if they dropped it by tomorrow but I expect it will be Monday or Tuesday before it actually arrives. I decided to order ten skeins of Merino yarn instead of my usual Peruvian wool. It means my base cost will go up a small amount, but the yarn is smoother and seems to be more popular right now. I also ordered new dye, which will give me a more reliable color than what I've been using.

Since I'm not getting the new Harry Potter book just yet I will not be a part of the madness at the bookstores. I haven't finished book six yet so picking up the newest one isn't a priority. I can't imagine the people that have been sitting in line for three days in the rain over it but then again, I did wait out in the snow for my copy of Burning Crusade. That was an interesting release event - and it was handled in a pretty efficient way. The store had a limited amount of copies and if you had pre-ordered you were given a numbered ticket when you arrived. At 12:01 they started calling numbers and you just walked up with your ticket, took your item (you had to pre-pay before getting in line) and left. There were about 150 people waiting outside in the freezing cold getting snowed on, and a good amount of them in pajamas or roleplay gear. I had ordered my copy six months in advance but my better half didn't since they don't believe me when I say you really do need to pre-order things like games so they didn't get a copy. Being kind, I offered them my copy and said I would just wait until morning and look for a copy elsewhere. Luckily I overhead someone saying the grocery store across the street had a bunch of copies just laying around so we zipped across the street and literally ran inside to snag an extra copy.

My habits of pre-ordering might border on obsessive - I've had the new Zelda game for Nintedo DS pre-ordered for over a year already and it still doesn't come out until this fall at the earliest. I think Fable was pre-ordered at least a few months in advance as well, and same for my Nintedo DS Lite.

In knitting news I finished the first camo sock and started on the cuff on the second. I don't like how the toe looks on the sock, but it's already been finished and I'm sticking with it. It's square and odd shaped when it's not being worn. This happened because I had to do a quick decrease on only a few toes instead of a slow decrease down the foot since it was too tight otherwise.

Tomorrow I have a sort-of makeover scheduled. I'm gettting a new hair style and I have no idea what it will be yet because so far no style appeals to me. I need something easy to maintain but still glamorous. Since my hair is fine, it refuses to obey the laws of hairspray and curling irons, which is why I can't have a high maintenance hair cut. I like it being long but it's very limp and frazzled since the textured cut I got last time doesn't grow out well. The salon I'm going to also does basic makeovers and spa treatments as part of the package so I might actually learn something useful from that. I don't wear a lot of make up (since I don't really need it) but when I do it's rather bland.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A Little Vent, A Little Yarn


My store sales are in a bit of a slump so I put some on ebay to see if the market is any better over there. I was a bit dismayed to see that the average price for hand dyed yarn over there is much lower than it should be. I'm not against reasonable prices for yarn, and I work to keep mine reasonable (my prices are usually $5-12 lower than most on Etsy) but these prices.. they're just too low. It's mostly the same seller too - undercutting everyone just to make a sale, which is sometimes a problem on Etsy as well. Having a sale is one thing, but constant undercutting devalues the work people put into it. If you're selling yours for $7-9 per big skein, you're barely making back cost, or losing money depending on where you get your base yarn. This often leads to other people lowering their prices in return to keep up and so on. The idea is to make handmade goods affordable - not dirt cheap. Etsy is not a flea market or thrift store even though there are some people determined to make it so. I won't have my shop there forever, once my business is steady enough I will move it elsewhere so that it's more direct and without a lot of the extra fees and frustrations.

There are two skeins of scarf yarn in my shop as well, such as this colorway I call Campfire Marshmellows. This last batch of yarn was dyed in softer colors to add a bit more variety to the store but they don't seem all that popular. The Merino yarn cleared out quickly, but the rest is lingering. There's been a flood of cross posted items in the knitting category, and it's pushed back most of the yarn, making it harder to see. It's been my biggest gripe about Etsy - that some of the sections contain items that don't technically belong there, and it makes it hard for buyers to find what they want easily. They really need to add a section under knitting for just yarn, and maybe one for stitch markers since that's the item that usually floods out the category.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Anticipation And Annoyances

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of a bag of yarn. It has taken way too long for it to arrive here. The place I order yarn from most of the time usually will process and ship your order faster if you call them instead of ordering online. Not this time. When I called in my order the phone was answered by Angry Unhappy Woman. AUW seemed offended that I was disturbing her over something as trivial as nine hanks of yarn. Honestly I think she would have been just as miserable and rude whether I had ordered one or one hundred hanks. I tried to be cheerful and pleasant to her and she shot it down quickly with a very dry and catty tone that made it clear that SHE was the one being put out by this and that she had better things to do than answer phones and take orders from people.

I'm not saying AUW is the reason my package still isn't here, but I do know that my order wasn't even added to their system for nearly two days after I called. That's slower than placing the order online. I'm sure she had a perfectly good reason for not immediately placing the order like everyone else has every time I have ordered. I would have ordered a full box of yarn like I normally do but I'm trying to do something different this time. I ordered three hanks of Merino sock yarn, three of my usual Peruvian (which I prefer) and three bulky weight hanks for scarf yarn. My next order will be based on how well the Merino and scarf yarn sell. I had been planning on carrying bulky yarn for fall/winter anyway so this is just an early jump on it.

My inventory is lingering around nine to ten items at any given time. Most of my new items sell out within 24 hours, so it can be hard to land on some of the better skeins. I do have an RSS feed of my shop, though I have noticed it sometimes updates hours after the item is listed so it's not always reliable. If there is enough interest I am considering starting an email list to email people with advance notice sales and upcoming items. My blog will also be a good way to find out what is being added since I will try to be a bit better about posting about the yarn here as I list it in my shop.

I'm still clock watching and waiting for any sign the mailman is here. I thought about sitting out on the front steps, knitting menacingly while I wait but the unbearable humidity and heat is keeping me inside. I also notice it's really sunny out, as it has been for days here. So much for the weather forecast of a rainy week. I would love some rain, the air feels thick enough to cut at this point. It's definitely not allergy friendly. I should get back to work on the magic camo socks. I really did have one finished until the recipient informed me that the toe doesn't fit well enough. Not once in the half dozen other times I had them try on the sock as I was working on it did they mention anything about wanting it less snug or any other changes. The only real way to solve this was to rip it completely and start all over. I'm nearing the heel on the first sock and I know I can knit to the instep before I need to call in the recipient for a fitting. I was on a roll with these socks, I churned out the first one and was already working on the second in no time. Having to start over took a lot of my momentum away. My big spur originally was that I vowed to not knit anything else while I was working on this pair and it worked. My socks to be are sitting barely cast on in a nice pouch waiting on me to finish this pair.

UPDATE:
The yarn is here! YAY!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Candy Corn

This delicious yarn is my latest work. It's a striped yarn made in tribute to Halloween candy corn. The brown is a rich chocolate with creamy white and smooth orange. The brown is the longer stripe with orange then white before repeating. The ball is large enough to make a pair of socks and have some left over, or would be good for a felted purse. It's for sale in my shop right now. There are also several skeins of yarn that are marked down with clearance prices as well. The faster those skeins sell the faster I can restock.

I have more yarn coming in next week. Only a few skeins this time, two Peruvian, two Merino and two bulky Peruvian. I will be stocking bulky scarf yarn soon since it is something that I have been getting requests for. I also do custom orders, so if there's a particular type or color of yarn you are interested, feel free to contact me about an estimate.

I'm still working on socks right now. I finished the first one but had to rip it and start over due to a request for a larger size. (why I wasn't asked earlier in the knitting I'm not sure) With any luck the socks will be done this weekend and I can get to work on the next pair. It's still very humid and warm here so I don't have a lot of energy to really post anything longer tonight.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Summer Heat

I have never really been a fan of summer. The heat and humidity here sap any energy or enthusiasm I have in record time. Not to mention that my fair skin burns quickly and leaves me with painful cooked lobster colored skin. As a result I spend a good portion of summer indoors where it's nice and cool. The past few days have been exceptionally awful - 60% or higher humidity, no rain, and sunny with high temperatures. For those of you who have never experienced this type of weather, imagine trying to walk around while wrapped in a damp hot wool blanket. Add the extra pressure on your sinuses if you have allergies and toss in a migraine or two and you have my typical day during the summer. I am not the friendliest person in weather like this. I keep it to myself as much as possible, but I will be the first to admit you're more likely to provoke me when it's hot or humid.



I've been weather watching the last few days. There have been lots of newscasts and predictions about how it will rain and storm for days (and how "awful" that is for everyone) yet the rain hasn't happened. It's been cloudy, but no rain. Also, it annoys me to no end to hear whining news anchors say how terrible it is that it hasn't rained and that crops and lawns are dying as a result, but when it rains they talk about how awful it is that it has to rain and "ruin" the day. This is similar to people complaining they hate the heat and wish it was winter, but when winter rolls around they whine about how they hate winter and wish it was summer already. Yeah, I complain about the heat but you will rarely hear me complain about the cold. I would seriously rather be cold and be able to bundle up than be too hot and unable to take off anything else and remain decent.



What brought this on was stepping outside to take photos of my latest yarn. No sooner did I set foot outside my glasses fogged up and it felt like I was breathing through that damp warm wool blanket I mentioned. Yuck-city. So now I'm inside waiting for it to rain. The cats are camping the door waiting for me to let them out, which won't happen until it rains.



I haven't done a lot in the past few days except clean and dye the last few hanks of yarn I have left over. There's one ball left that will be turned into tiger striped yarn as soon as I get the rest of these wound into skeins. Right now I'm half-heartedly working on the same sock I was plucking at all weekend. I want the sock finished so I can make something else. I wanted to take the leftover yarn from the Fabulous Fisherman scarf I made and make a bunny or bear out of it. Something small and cuddly. Something other than the monotonous k1p1 ribbing for the sock. It's slow going on small needles and boring. I only have 4 more rows of it before I can start the heel. That's the beauty of the magic 56/56 sock - I can see by my row counter how much more I have to go. The downside is that I can see how much more I have to go and I get impatient.



Also, a quick update - the new yarn I listed this morning just sold, so now I really do need to get to winding up the other hanks!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Progress

Is something I made little of yesterday.

For some reason every time I tried to do anything, I'd wind up getting distracted. Not enough knitting, not enough reading and definitely not enough cleaning.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Featured Yarn And Socks


Today's featured yarn has been in my shop for a bit and never seems to get enough exposure. This yarn is still available, but only one skein of it. It's a very short sequence colorway, but is very lively. As with my other yarn, I had socks in mind, but maybe more along the lines of children's socks because of the bright and fanciful color.

The camo-ish socks I mentioned are finally getting worked on. Instead of just finishing them as they are, I couldn't help myself. I ripped the first one all the way and started over so that I could do a k1p1 rib around the cuff so it would be more comfortable. I'm using the magic 56/56 pattern (56 stitches, 56 rows).

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Spice Cookies And A Finished Project

This is my latest yarn, Spice Cookies. I admit, when I was dying this yarn I was disappointed. I was trying a different method (plastic wrap and painting small sections, then wrapping it all up) and it did not go well. It originally was going to be brown and orange streaks but as soon as I went to wrap it up, the colors flew everywhere even though it looked like they had soaked in. I nearly scrapped it right then but I decided to go with it and added an extra color or two while it steamed. The Etsy listing has pictures of it pre-skeining so you can see what it looked like as it was drying. As I skeined it I noticed it was really looking nice! The colors are perfect, and the picture really does not do it justice. It looks edible almost. Clogs would be perfect for this yarn but socks would look terrific in it as well.


Well, nearly finished. Yesterday on Discovery Channel there was an all day Deadliest Catch marathon. I hate to admit it but I can't stop watching that show. I get teased to no end about it, so I sneak in episodes when no one else is home. I had been slowly working on socks but I felt like making something mindless and easy because I'd be busy watching the show. I mentioned before that the idea of 100+ stitches per row was daunting but I retract that, it is a whole lot easier than short rows. I put a stitch marker every 25 stitches just in case I lost track of where I was but I was over halfway done with the scarf before I even realized it. It's worked in two thick bouclé colors - one a variegated tan and the other a darker fuchsia with color chunks mixed in. Sounds hideous doesn't it? It has a retro feel to it, and it's very thick and warm. I dubbed it "Fabulous Fisherman". I need to add the finishing touches to it. I was thinking about fringe with beads on it but that might be too much, maybe just fringe in alternating colors. Pictures will be posted as soon as I'm finished with it. I need to force myself to finish the other pair of socks I have going. Last year I had to have a book with sock patterns in it. It was one of those things were I went to multiple places looking for it and no one was getting any peace until I had it. I was working on a pair of camo-ish colored socks for someone and I was convinced the book would help me get past the heels. The book was not as helpful as I hoped and I ripped the heels out several times. Yes, heels. I decided to make both socks at the same time since I know I'm slow to finish the second one. I bought two sets of double point bamboo needles and was working from the cuff down. Both socks are stuck at the heel. Since then I have learned far better ways to knit socks, mainly that it's easier to go from the toe up. The person wants them anyway, despite my protests that they will slouch since I didn't rib enough, and that I could just start over. Seeing my nearly finished scarf today reminded them that I started their socks last year and haven't finished them and hinted that maybe I should finish my projects before I work on something new.

As much as I want to sulk about that and work on something new anyway I have to acknowledge it as a a valid point. I have several projects that I started and abandoned. I vowed this year I would knit from my stash and empty it as much as I can before I buy new yarn. So far, I haven't purchased any new yarn for myself, everything I have bought has been for my shop. It's hard to find projects for the yarn I have. There's a lot of fur and feathery eyelash yarn that I either bought or was given for decoration, a ton of striped sock yarn and some random chunky yarn. The sock yarn I will end up using, so no worries on that, but the rest, it's hard telling what it will end up being.



Monday, June 18, 2007

New Yarn And Some Sock Work


This skein is the Neapolitan I mentioned in my last post. In my excitement I listed it with the yarn still hanked the way I dyed it. It's still available in my shop. Etsy is still having problems with new listings not showing on searches so this yarn hasn't been snapped up yet. I also have two skeins of the same color (it's a batch of three) that have not been listed yet. I'm waiting until Etsy gets the problems fixed because it's hurting sales when people can't see new items. (and when they finally do get added, they're a dozen or more pages behind) I am really pleased about this batch of yarn. I have four hanks of undyed yarn left over. I'm planning on an orange and brown stripe, as well as some long sequence blue/brown/green stripes. The other two I have yet to plan out.

This is the Neapolitan yarn after being re-skeined. Pretty, isn't it? I'm thinking it would make some terrific felted clogs. I scrapped the idea of the pink and white cotton yarn I was using for a scarf. I decided I just wasn't liking how it was knitting up. A different pattern or project would be better for it, maybe with some beads for an evening bag. Somehow felted clogs got into my head and I started wondering if that might be a good idea for the holiday gifts. I'm working on socks right now while I mull over my yarn choices for my next project. I want a bouclé scarf, and I'm wondering just how it would look if I used alternating rows of tan and pink. I've never made a scarf with long rows, and honestly, the thought of 100+ stitches per row makes me cringe but it will help me prepare for much larger projects.

This last yarn is also available in my shop. It's long and more or less even sequences of chocolate and variegated blue. It looks fantastic.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

New Yarn And A New Project

This yarn is a short color sequence mix of berry and grape. When I was dying it, the yarn looked like a bowl of berries with dollops of cream from the few spots I left bare. It's still available in my shop. Due to Etsy issues, it was quickly buried under pages of stuff. I really do wish they would add better organization to the knitting section. It's disheartening to try to find yarn and have to click through a dozen pages of accessories and finished goods that are in the wrong category.

It never fails to amaze me how different the yarn looks from it's dye-hank to it's show-skein. I'm hoping that a particularly hideous hank I dyed will end up looking much nicer after skeining. I'm sure it will knit up into something nice, the color pattern is actually nice but in it's still dye-hank state it is a thing of horror. It's a summer squash theme - browns, yellow, orange and some reddish orange. It's a good sock yarn color, or maybe anything felted. It's also a good color for a stuffed bear or bunny.

There are three hanks of Neapolitan Revisited drying right now. Since the first one sold so fast I decided to make a batch of it. As soon as they dry I will skein them up and get them listed. There are three other hanks waiting for their turn as well. The above mentioned squash yarn, another Pimento hank and a chocolate/turquoise mix.

I finished the purple scarf earlier today. It's still in the blocking process. It's going a lot better than I expected but due to curious cats I can only block a small section at a time. One of them has a fascination with the little pins I use to block things and will steal them if they aren't secured. (by secure I mean completely out of sight and covered with a towel or two) I will try to get a picture of it in the next day or two.

I've had this thin pink/mauve/white 100% cotton yarn in my stash for awhile. I bought two hanks of it (120 yards each) last year off Ebay because it was pretty. I left it in the drawer because I had no idea what to do with it. It's not super soft like some of the other cotton I have but I can work around that. I started making another lace scarf with it, but I'm testing it out to make sure it's not too scratchy. I would hate to give it as a gift and find out it's not comfortable.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Neapolitan Revisited

A few weeks ago I created this tasty yarn in honor of the ice cream. It was snatched up from my shop quickly, I think within the same day. I planned to make more of it when my next batch of nude yarn came in. With said batch of yarn I also ordered some proper brown dye. The chocolate toffee in this picture was from a mixture of Kool-Aid I came up with. It wasn't the rich chocolate I imagined but it still looked fantastic.

I worried about the brown dye - in the pot it looks almost plum on the yarn, and while I love purple, it wasn't what I was after. Any worries were soon squashed as I pulled the first hanks out and saw that they were luscious dark chocolate. I immediately set about making another hank of the Neapolitan yarn and ended up with this stunning color. Isn't that amazing? It's so vivid it looks like it might melt in your hands. I almost didn't list it in my shop because I wanted it for myself but I managed to post it. I didn't knit a test swatch because that might have convinced me I should just keep knitting from it! This yarn also was claimed from my shop in quick order and will be leaving my house today. But fear not, because I will be making a few more skeins of it in the next day or so.

I dyed five hanks over the weekend and haven't finished skeining them yet. The above yarn and a very sharp blueberry and orange yarn have already been listed. The blueberry is still available but I'm not sure for how long - I've already had an inquiry or two about it. Also, the picture here doesn't do enough justice to it. This is mostly due to the color contrast. In the shop listing there's a picture of it before I skeined it that shows just how vibrant the colors really are. There's a chocolate and dark turquoise, a purple/red/blue/white blend and one that I can only describe as "summer squash" waiting to be skeined into their show form. If I could get away with it, I would seriously post pictures of the yarn "naked" (meaning still hanked the way I dyed it) and sell it that way. It doesn't look as professional as it does when I take the time to wind it into tight skeins but it's a lot easier on me! It doesn't take too long to wind them up, maybe 15 minutes if I don't run into problems (tangles or distractions). I don't have a yarn swift yet, which is the source of my reluctance to skein them. So right now I wrap the hank around something and wind it around the edge of my desk, which is surprisingly the exact length I need to get a nice and tidy skein!

A swift would make life easier, two swifts and I would be in heaven. I've been working on the idea of a two swift + some sort of automated turner that I could turn on and let it do the work for me but that's a long while off. The swift is on my "to purchase" list, but at over $50 each, I will probably be waiting a bit. Right now my earnings from my shop go into buying more yarn (for the shop, not me!) so that I can try to keep a respectable stock. I'm going to try to keep a few untouched hanks on hand as well in case someone wants a custom order. It won't be a problem once I have a steady amount of orders since I will be able to buy a much larger quantity of yarn at a time instead of the dozen or so every few weeks that I get now.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Something About Yarn

It drives my cats crazy. There is something completely irresistible about a dangling piece of yarn in my knitting that screams to my cats "Chew on me!" "Play with me!" "Attack me!" This is why I now try to weave in the ends as I go since I am prone to leaving my current WIP unattended. The current WIP is a skinny lace scarf in a soft purple color. This is the first time I have done lace, and it's not nearly as hard as it looks. The patterns can be really confusing because there are a lot of yarn overs and knitting X amount together on almost every row so you have to keep track of it, but overall it's easy.

I'm working with a basic pattern with only a two row repeat, so there's not a lot of pattern watching, and fairly straightforward. Some experimenting with the stitches gave me a very nice pattern of thick "leaves" on the sides of the scarf with a solid "trunk" up the center. It looks a lot thicker right now since it hasn't been blocked yet. I have my doubts about how well this yarn will block, but even if it doesn't, the leaves look nice.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Casting On

This blog will be a bit of a mess for a bit. I canceled service with my previous host due to constant poor performance and too much downtime. As a result, most of the posts will need to be recopied to here until I decide on a new host, if I do at all. For anyone new to my blog, it's a mixture of dyed yarn that I sell, the occasional finished project, and the obligatory cats.

I'm working on making my online yarn shop a proper job. I enjoy the process of dying yarn, even if I never knit from it. Right now I'm in the process of building up my store's stash enough that I can have a solid supply at all times. My average right now seems to be about 10 or more in stock at all times. Some of the yarn sells about as fast as I can list it, which is excellent but makes it hard to keep stocked. I try to vary the colors as much as possible. It seems that the bright candy colored yarn always sells the best, while the rich and vibrant, or even muted tones sit longer. I also sell some of the yarn locally, which I would like to see blossom into something regular as well.

There is a link on the sidebar to my online shop, and I will often post new yarn to this blog as well.