you spin me right round .....

I want to buy a spinning wheel and learn to spin my own yarn.
yes i am crazy, no, i don't care.

I want to learn to spin really good and then maybe i can go to the ren fest and get paid to spin.
that would be awesome.

To dye, perchance to dream

I decided today to dye some cotton yarn a nice taupe color for some dishcloths a co worker asked me to make for her. When she asked me i said "of course i can dye yarn a taupe color."
How could it be.

I bought some white cotton yarn and a bottle of rit dye in taupe.  i put the dye in the big cooking pot on the stove with water. turned on the stove.



I unwound the an entire 4oz skein of lilly's sugar and cream yarn, tied it off and put it in the dye bath.   I watched family guy as i dutifully stirred and agitated my yarn.

here  i'm using my kitchen drawers as a niddy noddy

after family guy was over i watched half of the simpsons and took out my yarn and rinsed it.

This is not taupe. This is an evil weird redish cream color masquerading as taupe.
who invented taupe anyway.  i can save this skein. i can over dye it with the cranberry color she wants and no one will be the wiser.

ok now i have taken out my second skein of white yarn and will try again. i will only dye this skein a third at a time.

pour out some of the dye bath as there was too much dye. add more water.


this looks better but still not quite what i hoped for.


next batch add salt, turn off stove. agitate more. aghhhh this is agitating me more than i'm agitating it.


ok last batch. warm water on stove and turn off burner. agitate let it sit. repeat.


I give up.

I took the first taupe sample, the one thats too dark, to work to show the lady and she loves it.

I will dye the cranberry next week.

Lace is like March

I'm knitting a nice lace wrap for easter in a very lovely shade of green. Its my personal indulgence. I've never knitted lace before but here is my conclusion.
Lace is like the month of March; in like a lion, out like a bitch.
Lace hates me and right now i hate it too.
my friend told me that lace just hates everyone. she's fickle that way.

Sock obsession

I think i have a sock and shoe obsession.
i have 3 sock drawers.
wooly warm socks (winter) no show socks (summer)
white/ black / grey
novelty and handmade

i have probably 70 pair of shoes. eeek

i have 9 sock projects i'm doing for myself this year
i have 3 sock books

i made socks for my bunny

i work in a shoe store

Another fingerless glove pattern (like I really needed to add another one in existance, right?)

I used Lion Brand Wool ease for the warmth
size 5 dpns
waste yarn

gauge 6st and 8 rows per inch

cast on 44 st and join
knit 2x2 ribbing for 42 rounds

round 43 choose a knit rib and place marker increase 1 stitch increase 1 stitch and place another marker
finish round in 2x2
knit 2 rounds in 2x2
knit to mark in 2x2
slip marker increase 1 st knit to 1 st before marker increase 1st
knit round
continue untill 14 st between markers
knit 2 rounds in 2x2

save 14 st on waste yarn

cast on 2 st at thumb gusset

continue in 2x2 rib for 20 more rounds
bind off on 2x2

place 14 st on needles pick up bottom of 2 cast on stitches
knit 10 rounds
bind off

weave in ends
enjoy

If you knit a fish a Sweater

If you knit a fish a sweater.....

this is for my dad's fish named fry

the yarn reminded me of seaweed

size 10 needles

gauge 4 st and 8 rows to the inch

Fun fur

Cast on 40 st

knit every row for 18 rows

knit 10 st bo 3 knit 14 bo 3 knit 10

knit 10 cast on 3 knit 14 cast on 3 knit 10

knit 2 more rows

bind off

sew left edge to right edge but leave open 1 inch for dorsal fin.

Wrench Cozi

Wrench Cozi

This is the perfect for that special guy who has everything.

The wrench cozi will keep his hand from getting

too cold while working on the car this winter.

sock weight yarn

dpn size 1

gauge 8st & 12 rows = 1 inch

finished size small is 4- 1/4 inches x 3/4 inches and will fit a 10mm craftsman wrench

s (m,l,xl)

cast on 12 (16, 20,24)stitches

join and knit in 2x2 ribbing being careful not to twist stitches

continue in 2x2 ribbibg for 55(65,75,85) rounds

bind off in 2x2 ribbing

Size Wrench sizemm Cast on Rows

S 8, 9, 10 12st 55

M 11, 12, 13 16st 65

L 14, 15, 16 20st 75

XL 17,18,19 24st 85