Dye-stained hands

I have ordered a Procion dye starter kit and a selection of undyed yarns. Hopefully it'll arrive before the weekend and Sunday will be devoted to the production of colourful yarny goodness. And mess.

This comes after the success of our food colouring dye extravaganza a couple of months ago, involving Supercook food colouring (20p a bottle in Tesco), lots of white vinegar and a variety of pale coloured cheap yarns from John Lewis, resulting in this:


(As a point of interest at the way different fibres take up dye, the two yarns on the left were done using the same combination and dilutions of dye but the left one is wool and the right is silk.)

I'm a little apprehensive at using 'real' dyes from mess and safety perspectives. Food colouring just felt like playing at dyeing. The thing I'm most worried about: spilling dye on the laminate flooring. We rent. I'm sure I'll come up with some way of protecting the floor - opened out binbags and lots of newspaper? I'm glad I finally ordered a dyeing kit as I've wanted to try this for a while but it kept getting shoved down the list of yarny priorities, I intended buying a kit at Wonderwool, but didn't. I'm skint now.

Woolfest here I come

It looks like I'm going to Woolfest. OH didn't take much pursuading. I think it was the mention of 'alpaca' and 'rare breed sheep' that did it. I've said that if we're going we'll need to book the hotel soon, like by the end of the weekend. There are no cheap train tickets to Carlisle, so it doesn't matter when we book the train.

The amethyst chips I ordered for the Arachne's Tears scarf I'm making from Interweave Crochet arrived today. They're a bit big but they were the smallest ones I could find as most of the bead websites I looked at didn't state a size. They're very pretty and match perfectly but I also have more than I need. Now I just need to buy some purple thread at the weekend and finish the scarf.

I've realised I have far too many WIPs. I must try and get the ones that won't take much effort to finish finished.

Wonderwool

3 skeins Posh Yarn Eva 2-ply in variegated bright green
2 skeins Posh Yarn Eva 4-ply in bright tuquoise/green
1 skein Posh Yarn Lei in a bluish colour
4 skeins Knitting 4 Fun linen/cotton blend in lilac
3 skeins The Natural Dye Studio DK in Barcelona (BFL Dazzle DK), Scots Pine (BFL Dazzle DK) and Deep Delft (Alpaca/silk DK) for my blanket project
drop spindle
flick carder
merino roving in dark red and two shades of purple
a half bottle of Penderyn single malt for OH

Nelli and I had a great time being seduced by beautiful, soft yarns. Among Nelli's purchases was this marvellously luminous sock yarn:



I was so overwhelmed by yarn and colours and Nelli breaking into The Llama Song every time we passed a stall marked 'alpaca' that I neglected to take any photos. Nelli and I purchased drop spindles with a view to becoming expert spinners. "How hard can it be?" we thought and off we went... well *ahem*. Let's just say the first thing I did when I got off the train in Edinburgh yesterday was go to Waterstones and buy a book on spinning. OH thinks he's got it sussed and we're going to have another go at it tonight.

The problem with Wonderwool was that we got to the 'I want one of everything' stage and decided to stop. Of course there are lots of things I regret not buying, but thank goodness for the internet - I can still acquire my dying kit and undyed yarn and Fyberspates yarn.

The problem with going to Wonderwool is that now I really want to go to Woolfest - the more you have the more you want. Woolfest is much closer to me geographically but it takes about five hours to get to Cockermouth using public transport. Realistically we'd have to stay for a couple of nights in Penrith which would make for an expensive trip.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the metreage of yarn I bought will not be being added to my yarn non-diet tracker!

Tomorrow, Wales

Early start tomorrow. Urgh I hate early starts, and hate long train journeys even more but hopefully Saturdy's fun will make it worthwhile. I've narrowed down the crochet projects I'm taking with to four (two scarves and two stoles/shawls) and initially laid out about a weeks worth of clothes but then discovered that most don't fit any more, which definitely helps with narrowing it down to three days of clothing. I'm still deciding what books to take for on-train reading. I started with eleven and have narrowed it down to five so far but that's still too many.

Ho hum. Not much else doing so I'll leave you with 'Shiraz squashes a hat' and 'The lazy cat's guide to scratching post use' respectively.

Learning from experience

I have learned two valuable lessons this evening:

1. Never ever leave a swift with a half-wound ball of yarn unattended, not even for a second, if there is a cat around. I have had both 2-ply and 3-ply snapped this evening as a consequence of briefly leaving my swift.

2. Never underestimate the value of understanding partners and their miraculous yarn-untangling abilities.

Why diets don't work...

Points at four figure number on right hand side. Admittedly this is because I've developed something of a taste for laceweight and sock/fingering weight yarns lately which makes it very easy to vastly increase the metreage of stash for relatively little money. I appear to be going to Wonderwool next weekend, as a kind friend invited me to stay with her and OH bought me the train ticket. I have been trying to be very good and cut right back on unnecessary spending so I can make the most of my trip. It was all going so well until I had to go into Edinburgh and buy a birthday present. That bit was fine, and I spent exactly the amount of money I intended etc. but it broke my non-shopping habit. This is what happened over the last few days:



They weren't all full price, that would be really silly. The fact that there is chick lit in that pile (I loathe chick lit) says something about my state of mind lately. I only read chick lit when I'm not feeling great mentally and physically. Of course, if I throw it down in frustration part way through I'll know I'm not actually as bad as I think. After a lot of deliberation about whether I could wait or not, I booked a hair cut for this week but the hair salon I go to has put its rates up. So that's another chunk out of the Wonderwool budget.

And why diets don't work...? Because everything should be in moderation, and in my case certainly, denying myself things or severely restricting them only makes me want more than I would have had I not tried to restrict them. Forbidding things only makes them more attractive. It's the same with food. Although I generally eat reasonably healthily, Ravelry and it's goddamn cake () icon has made me crave fondant fancies and Victoria sponge with buttercream icing.

I thought the Violas I bought last year were supposed to be annuals, but my garden currently has these:





It must be all the wonderful bokashi compost we made. The flowerbed does look a bit odd with bits of eggshell in amongst the plants. I see Gemini Knits has some handpainted yarn in a 'Winter Pansies' colourway. Ooo, I must resist temptation.

I have just finished my Thirds scarf in Posh Yarn Helena in 'Kingfisher'. Hopefully I have enought yarn leftover to make a lacy pair of wristwarmers. It's drying after a light wash, but here is a sneak preview of it pre-washing:



OH is in Switzerland this week, at CERN for a conference/meeting (his departure was accompanied by stress from him and floods of tears and wailing from me, as per usual). It doesn't start until tomorrow but I heard mutterings about 'meeting up for beer and food'. OH will be home on Friday, but he'll get back after I've left to catch the train to Wales, so I won't see him until next Monday which will be the longest time we've ever been apart :,( I've learned that the best way to deal with this situation is to keep as busy as possible. Last year when he went to Switzerland I cleaned the whole house. I'm not sure I wnat to do that again - I'm not a naturally clean and tidy person and I don't think my skin has forgiven me yet. I have lots of yarn to wind into balls as there are two projects I want to get started to take to Wales with me - I find it impossible to sit and watch TV now without crocheting at the same time.

Round-up (very pic heavy!)

It's been a bit of a tough week, interspersed with priods of insanity (not in a good way). This morning we got up to this outside the window.

(I wish I could have posted a nice photo of snow-laden trees and hillside, but no such luck as we live on a soul-less, vegetation-free new development). It's all melted now. Winters aren't what they used to be. This is my Granny's house in about 1991

(Sorry for the poor image quality - it's a scan of a rather kinked negative.)

Today I located my copy of Mrs Beeton in one of the boxes in the garage - 1992 updated edition, bought for a fiver in the Waterstone's sale a few years ago. My OH proceeded to be immensely amused by her (or rather the editorial board's, nowadays,) advice on choosing wine, laying tables and suchlike.

I also potted some cuttings my mother sent me from the roe that grew below my bedroom window at her (old) house. Roses have always disappointed me with their showiness, but frequent lack of scent. However the rose below my bedroom window was the most fragrant I have ever experienced, so I requested cuttings. Two of the five had had it thanks to being at the mercy of Royal Mail for three days. I would have preferred to use organic rooting compound, but they needed potting fast and I couldn't get organic locally so Baby Bio Roota it had to be. I just hope they take.


I started my blanket kit a few days ago. It's very satisfying since every square is like a mini accomplishment, and I'm being very disciplined about sewing in the ends as I go. These were the first two squares. I'm up to about six now.


I made a quick scarf from some handspun I bought from Daniela Kloppmann FeltStudio. I really liked the way it turned out, but it's made me desperately want to order a drop spindle and some roving/batts.


I appear to have acquired some sock yarn. I already have lots of sock yarn, but most of it is from Indie dyers such as The Yarn Yard and Posh Yarn and obviously far too beautiful to be used for socks. I don't understand the fascination for making socks - socks are functional and most of mine are plain or have flowers or other patterns on, and socks are hidden and get worn out. They're not on display, and special socks invariably lose their partners (probably to the drainage pipe of the washing machine, where they may may cause a blockage months later as they gather a protective armour of soap-scummy slime). Also, socks cost £3 for five pairs in M&S even if they are in boring black. Anyway, 'don't knock it till you've tried it' as they say, and I have acquired some Regia Sock Yarn, Kaffe Fassett Design Line in Landscape Caribbean from John Lewis even though I did get pounced on by a sales assistant who decided that I didn't look like a JL customer with my unwashed, unbrushed hair and scruffy fleece - as I said it's been a tough week (I don't shop in JL's yarn dept very often because of the recent increase in pouncing). Maybe I'll be converted to making socks yet. I just need to find a pattern that will fit my tiny feet, and good free crochet sock patterns are harder to come by in the first place, let alone for my midget feet.

Treasures

I ordered a blanket subscription.

Last night I finished the ruffley scarf of nightmares. I forced myself to sit and finish it as it was becoming an anxiety trigger:


(Link to pattern is in a previous post)

I've been sorting more of my stuff. To cut a long story short, my mother has moved 'down south' as we call it, or to fuckinglondon as I think of it. In a great hurry I had to pack up my stuff and am only now actually sorting what I want to keep. I've got the aran jumper my Granny knitted for me about 15 years ago (okay I'll need to lose about 30lbs in weight before it could be considered 'flattering'). I've put another dozen books on Green Metropolis and have brought my shawl upstairs (I've finally been deemed responsible enough to have it):

I believe I was given this shawl as a baby, apparently by an old woman who lived in an electricity-less cottage above Dunkeld, and dyed and wove yarns into shawls. I've always liked this shawl, but as a teenager I was not allowed to have it to drape over the end of my bed. I still find this insulting - I was a very unrebellious teenager. I had Laura Ashley bedlinen and wallpaper and I much preferred to go fishing with my Dad, do cross-stitch or sit in my room programming my computer than go out drinking or have friends round (well okay, I guess it was an unconventional rebellion). I'm currently wearing the shawl although it's a bit too warm. I've got that many crocheted shawls planned I decided I'd better see if I could actually wear one. I like it but I can't help feeling 30 going on 73. I've been trying to find out about the shawl, so far unsuccessfully. The label says "This is an exclusive Cally Cottage Product Handwoven and Dyed Dunkeld Scotland." I assumed it was made of wool but I'm not convinced - it's some kind of loopy boucle yarn, but feels almost artificial. I'm reluctant to chop off a bit of the fringe to do a 'burn test' to work out the fibre even though it wouldn't show as the fringe has a very handmade all-different-lengths look to it. Smell is no guide - it smells like my mother's linen cupboard where it's been stored for the last umpteen years.

Oh goodness

My Bessie's Blanket Starter Kit has just arrived from The Natural Dye Studio (a full week after it was posted, bloody Royal Mail. That's bumped the yarn metreage up a bit. I'm super-impressed with the contents of the blanket kit though and am resisting the urge to order a 3-month subscription until I've got at least a few squares done. Ooo, I can't wait to get started.

Blargh

Well, as you can see, the Yarn Diet has been a failure so far. I have several projects nearish completion which should help, but yarn in the mail outweighs the yarn in use. Oops. Unburdening in other areas of my life has been slightly more successful - today I have listed another 45 books on GreenMetropolis bringing my total to over 200. Unfortunately most of the books I've added are either obscure textbooks or books that there are many copies of already on there.

We had my OH's parents visiting for most of the last week, and I have almost finished 'reclaiming the house' having removed/thrown away/tidied the random things left lying around. I have still to remove the meat products from the fridge (we're mostly veggie). I wonder if the 80p in the bathroom was some kind of housekeeping tip...? One of our recipe books is missing, and I have my suspicions.

All Aboard! All Aboard!

This pretty much describes the state of my yarn diet at the moment. Due to family problems (if I was feeling lighthearted about it I'd just say 'argh! mothers!' but it's all a bit much) I've been on the verge of a panic attack constantly for the last week or two, not sleeping properly, eating and drinking too much, and... spectacularly bingeing on yarn online this weekend. Most of it has a planned use, so it's not quite mindless buying yarn for the sake of it. Of course, I'd have to have a life expectancy of 217 at my current rate of planning projects. As for the anxiety and waking up having panic attacks I think I'll need to arrange my Discman next to the bed with a nice soothing CD in it that I can listen to when I can't sleep. Unfortunately Rescue Remedy has no effect whatsoever on me.

I finished my Boteh Scarf in The Yarn Yard Bamboo 'Miniskirt':



I was a bit worried when I started out as the merino/bamboo blend has an odd, slightly stiff texture, but for this scarf it worked really well as it gave it a little more structure and made it less floppy (especially once I'd done the border round it). It needs blocked still as it's a little curly in some corners. I'm pleased with how it came out, despite the colour being uncharacteristically feminine.

I've got my old Canon camera up and running again - I'd been using a lighter weight Kodak but it tended to make the edges of photos, have an odd colour balance and a hopeless flash, but it's also more intuitive and has a better screen. The Canon is bigger and heavier, and only 4 Megapixels, but takes better photos as it has better optics. It's just hard to see if things are in focus due to the small screen - this is irritating in macro mode.

Nrom...nrom... nrom...

Not a crochet post. A brownie post:

Made to Yogic Knitter's recipe. Very yummy they are too.

A photo entitled 'Slotted Spoon':


Florriezilla takes on slotted spoon:


/random.

My general crochet plan for this weekend is to get two projects finished (I actually have three that shouldn't take much work) and also finish one of a pair of amigurumi owlets I'm making for my OH's mother. I am on the verge of caving... I feel the need to make a blanket

Yarn diet system

A new item has appeared in my sidebar. This will be my yarn diet tracker. It starts at zero. When I buy yarn, the metreage will be added, when i use up yarn the metreage will be deducted. It's not ideal since it doesn't take finances into account (and a hank of 1200m laceweight from Etsy generally costs less than three hanks of Colinette Point 5 but adds a lot more metreage). So, negative numbers are generally good as they represent a cutting down of my stash and/or using yarn faster than I'm buying it, and positive numbers are bad since they represent an accumulation. Yarns I am gifted don't count and partial balls will be estimated.

A swift update

Winding from my swift was a great success. Using a cardboard loo roll tube as a makeshift nostepinne was less so. I might stick to the cannonball method for things I'm going to use immediately. Florrie-cat watched the process with some interest with her head tilted to one side, but made only a couple of moves to grab the moving yarn.

Oh and I slipped earlier, but only a little. Tomorrow will see the creation of some kind of system for keeping track of yarn loss and gain in my yarn fast/diet/use-it-up efforts.

It's HEEEERE!

My swift ('scuse the mess):

Test run tonight.

I'm in serious danger of going off the 'yarn fast' in a big way. I've figure out what I want to do with a couple of yarns in my stash, and guess what?... these projects require more yarn. And for one of them, the seller only has one left (but I want the same thing in two other colour ways for two other as yet undefined potential projects). Maybe one wouldn't hurt... ack, my resolve is slipping. I'm also tempted by some yarn I've been deliberating over for a month or two.

A very long WIP picture post

I took the plunge. I've ordered a swift. That mini poncho thing I posted a picture of the other day is wonderful for wearing round the house - it's not flattering but it's snuggly and cosy and warm.

I have several/too many works in progress. Part of the point of this post is to try and motivate myself to finish the projects that are almost there before I start any new projects. I haven't got myself set up to take arty photos on a white background so you'll have to put up with the Ikea table (and occasional cat intrusion).

First, we have the Cold Shoulder capelet (from The Happy Hooker). This is so close to being finished. All it needs is the pompoms on the ends of the ties, but I'm procrastinating about that, partly because I have to wind the mohair into a ball first. The yarn is a random, apparently unbranded mohair I bought on sale from Stash Fine Yarns


Second we have my alpaca stars scarf made from purple Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca - both pattern and yarn available from Scandinavian Knitting Designs. This one is kind of hibernating at the moment as I found it took a bit of concentration, and I tend to get interrupted a lot so it became stressful.


This is a meshy scarf in Mirasol Hacho. The pattern is called Monika. I'm struggling to finish this as I've found it difficult to do since I had a nightmare about it when I had a cold a few weeks ago. I've only got a row of edging to do around it now.


I started this sleeveless cardigan (or vest if you're American) in January with the intention of wearing it in cold weather. I whizzed through the back part, but the pattern (the Denim Vest from the Lion Brand website) is one of those ones that gives you half the pattern fro the fornt and tells you to reverse it for the other half. This has put me off a bit, as has the fact that it's going to be too small (and I'm doing it in Icelandic Lopi which felts really easily so it's not going to be very washable). If I lose the weight I want to this year it might fit next winter. The other problem is that now Lopi is just too warm to work with. It's great when the weather's cold and it's like crocheting with a wee blanket on my lap, but now it's a little warm.


My Eva shawl, also from a link from Ravelry. I'm doing this one with a merino laceweight yarn from YarnAddict Yarns. I love this yarn, and the shawl is going well, though I've got to the point where each rown is taking 40 minutes (I folded the edges over in the photo to get it all in). It looks a lot less blotchy in reality - my camera has an annoying tendency to overemphasise blue. I'm sure I can adjust the colour balance but I have no idea how (apart from in Photoshop).


Boteh scarf from an old copy of Interweave Crochet. Another project I'm really enjoying - I'm doing it in a wool/bamboo sock weight yarn from The Yarn Yard.


And finally, a flowery scarf in Fyberspates Scrumptious Chunky. The pattern is another one I found the link for on Ravelry. It's called Anne and is available as a cheap pdf download. This is another project I'm really enjoying.

Thanks!

Thanks for the yarn swift suggestions. The ones on Posh Yarns and Get Knitted both look lovely so that's definitely something to think about in the next week or two. I don't mind winding smallish hanks into balls (like about 350m or less), it's the ones upwards of about 500m that test my patience.

One thing that's irritating me already with Blogger is the inability to reply directly to comments so a thread/conversation builds up. I am reading, and do appreciate all the helpful comments I've had so far.

So much for yarn diet

I may have slipped, shall we say, in the last few days. Cutting down on yarn buying evidently isn't working, so I am now attempting a yarn fast. No yarn until Saturday 22nd (see, I really am addicted). Baby steps... if I manage that then I'll attempt a longer fast - until May 1st would be a reasonable time to make a dent in my stash. We will see. I also know from experience that restricting my consumption tends to result in a binge later, so we shall see.

I am considering getting an umbrella swift. I have no patience when it comes to winding from a skein to a ball, and as my new thing is laceweight (therefore reeeaaaalllly long lengths of yarn) I think it might be a good idea. Of course, cost is an issue and I don't want to order from the US and be thumped by customs charges.

Not for fat days

I've had four balled-up skeins of Colinette Point 5 in Florentina languishing in my stash for months - I ordered it with the intention of making a scarf but when it arrived it was a bit pink and just a bit much really (the problem with ordering Colinette blind is that you don't know exactly what the colours will be like). I finally turned it into a capelet from this pattern:

On Ravelry there are lots of comments about how you should never make a sweater from Point 5 unless it's for a skinny person. The same holds true for capelets. Picture a tea-cosy on a watermelon. You get the idea. My partner says it's 'cute' which roughly translates as 'it's nice but I'm not sure about it on you'. Never mind. I really didn't know what to do with that yarn and I am trying to lose weight, so one day it might actually be less rounding.

Last Saturday I gave in and bought some Orkney Angora in Fawn:

I'm going to use it doubled and make the Mei-mei mini-cardi from the cover of Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan.

I am attempting a yarn diet and trying to use up some of my stash before buying more. With my birthday last week I went a bit mad, and my queue of planned projects is getting silly. I have a few 'unallocated' yarns in my stash so I'm trying to find patterns for them.

So I gave in...

and got a Blogger account where I can waffle about my various crochet projects, past, present, future and imaginary, as well as yarn-lust.

This morning some lovely Emerald Apple Cobweb Kid Mohair Lace dropped through the letterbox this morning from The Natural Dye Studio. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but 800 yards of mohair gives me plenty of possibilities.

I also put in a substantial order to Scandinavian Knitting Design this morning, but it's enough yarn for four projects (but it does mean I'll be making one of them with yarn less than a fifth of the cost of the recommended yarns). I tried to order last night but their online shopping cart was wonky - it kept doubling the quantities of some of the items in my cart and then when I got to the checkout it kept insisting I'd incorrectly filled in the address form. This morning, it was still doing odd things with quatities but the checkout was working at least.

The justification for all this yarn? It was my birthday on Monday (and it was a semi-significant one).

I am cross with Flickr. It's only showing me random photos. This has been going on since yesterday so there's no point in uploading any of my photos at the moment as they won't show up on my Ravelry account. It also means I can't see other peoples photos of projects on Ravelry - of course this may be a good thing otherwise I might be 'inspired' to order more yarn. Right now I'm looking for a justification/project to buy some Orkney Angora for.

I'm feeling a desire to do some more dying after our successful experiments with Supercook food colouring (21p a bottle from Tesco), but I have an Open University assessment coming up and ought to spend Sunday afternoon getting on top of my OU workload instead of making a colourful mess.