smatterings

Clapotis

Am I the only one out there who has not knitted Clapotis?  Am I?  It has been on the list, almost forever.  Last Thursday's guild meeting bumped it to the top.  No exaggeration, there must have been six new Clapotis on display that night.  All beautiful.  I went home thinking about what yarn to use, what colors to dye, what.. what!  I pictured knitting one in a more or less monochromatic colorway.  That was before.  In the morning, I walked outside (as I do) and saw this.  The clincher.

After coffee, I went to work. 

I dyed eight skeins of the Artisan 2 ply and then a second batch in the sock yarn.  Last night I finally had time to cast on.  I'm waiting to take a picture until I do the first column of dropped stitches.  That's when I'll know.

Meanwhile, ice is setting up on the pond.  Nippy, let me tell you.  Don't let this picture fool you.  That lovely gold is not autumn leaves.  They are a memory.   It is the golden glow, the beautiful end of the day light, of winter.

new kids in town

What with all that has been going on, and the problematic phone lines, these weren't posted onto the website when I'd hoped.  Finally, they are up. 

    

    

       

   

Thanks for all your good thoughts on the clear cut issue.  Talks continue.  Skidder arrives next week.  Time will tell.

tashi

    

   

 

"tashi"

65% merino / 20% bamboo / 15% silk

I've been knitting a scarf with it and can tell you that the drape is terrific, it is soft and it is absolutely washable! I've also posted six new sock yarn colors.  Nothing like a wool festival to get me motivated. I spent an hour or so at the mostly 'local' library getting these pictures posted.   They have wireless.  My other choice is a slightly more local pizza place but then I end up drinking a wonderfully large glass of stout or something and lose my concentration.  Mrs. Paul just tapped me on the shoulder, time to go get Chinese for dinner.   

summer, now you see it, now you don't

I'm still dyeing.  The weather has been perfect, cool, great light, and low humidity for drying.  If it holds for a few more days, I'll be in good shape for next weekend. 

It was 34F Sunday morning.  It felt like a soup day.  C thought he saw frost in front of the shop when he went down there, but I don't think so.  The beans were in good shape and I saw no damage anywhere.  Usually the ferns will brown up if they get hit.  I am about to give up on the idea of red tomatoes this year.  Maybe green tomato pickles are in order.  Fingers crossed.  The past few years we've gotten through September without a heavy frost.   I actually considered putting flannel sheets on the bed.   Imagine that.   

color everywhere

A stone path travels through the garden, across a bit of grass before ending at the dirt road that is my driveway.  I walk it on my way to the shop.  Nice commute. 

   

   

 

  that hosta picture is somewhere
 

 

hot, cold, & sock yarn

Read a chapter, jump in the pond and cool off, move chair wherever the breeze blows (if there is one is blowing), read chapter, jump in the pond, ...  Last week was hot, rip your clothes off hot.  Today is cold.  Cold enough that C has been wearing a knit cap, and socks.  Perfect day, I thought, for dyeing.  By 7:30 this morning, I had the dye pot going.  Then the skies opened up, the lightening snapped and flashed, and the thunder....well Bu went and hid under the bed.   I got one batch of yarn in the pot before I decided that standing on a dirt floor under a steel roof, stirring a pot of water heating on an electric burner, in the pouring rain, made no sense at all.  It's been one of those days.   I don't have as much to show as I'd like.  The Harry Potter is finished, and digested.  Some of the alpaca / merino / silk blend I carded over the weekend has been spun just "to see".   

Here are a couple of the colors that I did manage to dye on the days when it wasn't SO hot. 

   
Gourd  sock yarn
Sure looks bright in that picture, it isn't.  Shades of orange, subtle to a bright rosy orange with khaki undertones.  Guess I need to photograph it in better light.  I made a pair of socks from this colorway last fall or winter.  I tried to go back to reference it, but waiting for pictures to load on dial up.. not in this lifetime.

Dress Blues sock yarn
grey to a greyed navy

more sock yarn, finally

Whew!  Here are the new sock yarn colors.  Hope you like them.  Some are repeats, some, like tomato soup and dream are new. 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Next up for the dye pot is the alpaca & silk blend lace wt.  I've been nearly sold out for far too long.  I'll take a week or so off, catch up on gardening and family, feel the wind in my hair, the sun on my face, then get them going.  My merino & silk yarn should arrive during this coming week from the mill.  This is the last to be spun at Indigo Moon for me.  I am so sorry to see them close, but know that Mary Lynn is off on an exciting new life adventure.  Good luck to her! 

My apologies to those of you on dial up.  I know how slow this must be.

sock yarn

After what seemed an awfully long wait, the yarn order arrived.  All this dyeing has me hankering to knit more socks.  I can't wrap my head around the reason for it, but a new skein of sock yarn, in a new color, feels a lot like getting a great sweet yummy piece of candy. 

Yarn candy.   

   

   

   

   

  I'm loving it.

walk with me wednesday

(Sorry, I walked yesterday, while there was a chance.  I had my camera along, of course.  The first shot,  I got just what I was thinking I wanted,  where I wanted to take my thoughts.  Second.. nope, the batteries went dead.  Today, there isn't a chance I'll get out to walk.  C. just had one of the guys drive him home.  The stomach flu.  Big problem, I think I have it too.  Bigger problem, I have to pick up my sister and my niece at 5:30pm for a week long visit.  Keep your fingers crossed for me, huh?  They wanted to go right from the airport to a great Vietnamese restaurant.  Sounds chancy to me.  whew!)

I am all about texture this week. I was lucky enough to get the remainder of a lot of a wonderful wool silk yarn.  It is remarkably like Silky Wool.  Same as, in my opinion.  It is a wonderful 65% wool/ 35% silk tweed yarn, somewhere between a dk and a worsted.  It drinks up color.  The result is a very variegated tweed in a shaded colorway.  I'm very happy with it.  I've got three colors to offer so far.

The put up is in 220 yd (2 oz+) skeins, before dyeing.  I am dyeing 8 skeins to a colorway.  My pots can't really do more and allow me to have any control with this weight yarn.  It's in the sidebar, or will be, soon. 

changes

There have been a few changes around here.  It took hours, well... days, to photograph and upload all the images of the new yarns and colors I have worked on this winter.  Many of you saw them at SPA. For those of you that didn't, here's a peek at some of the new.  To make things easier, I have separated the yarns into three groups, each having it's own "album" on the sidebar. 

1. My Own Merino & Silk Hand Dyed Yarn.  This is the yarn I have spun for me.  I have it in a single ply and a 2 ply.
2. Lovely Lace Weight Yarns.  There are several different blends, a merino/silk, an alpaca/silk, and a pure alpaca.
3. Sock Yarn.  wool & nylon, machine washable.

That's the line up for now.  When I can remember my old skills (whew.. am I really calling it skill) at making a web page or two, I will shift it over to a new web site.  For the time being, it all stays here, at smatterings.  I hope this makes it easier to browse through. 

On to knitting!!

I had planned on showing my completed Trellis.  I had one more pattern row, one purl row and the bind off.  After falling asleep FIVE times on the pattern row, wake up.. rip back start knitting, fall  asleep, keep knitting.... on and on, I decided to wait for morning.  Who knew??  I can't do a double decrease in my sleep.