Yup, we decided to dye some yarn.  Real dyeing, not the Kool-Aid I’ve attempted in the past.  Mom had six hanks of sock yarn and a flat sock blank, and I brought two skeins of sock yarn and two lace weight to dye.

We started this project around 6 p.m. Monday evening after running all over Erie finding the supplies we needed.  (Keep this in mind…)

Mom went crazy ordering acid dyes in all sorts of colors.  We had thirteen different ones, plus mom mixed some of her own shades of purple.

Here we’re pre-soaking the yarn in a couple huge bucket-things mom had in the basement.  I told her we should have put them on the floor to stomp in them like Lucy!

… and there I am pretending to know what the heck I’m doing!  Attempting the dyeing process yourself gives you a whole world of appreciation for all the indie dyers out there.  It also gives you blue thumbs if you’re “lucky” like me and discover a hole in your rubber glove too late into the process.

When it came time to steam our yarn, we repurposed an old pressure canner my mom had.  (Actually, we discovered she has four pressure canners in her basement. Seriously.) We took out the jar rack, bent the handles so it would hover higher out of the boiling water, and it worked perfectly!

I hung the last of this yarn in the basement at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Yes, you read that correctly: we started dyeing at 6 p.m. Monday night, and finished at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Think we learned our lesson!

Even better, I fell into bed about 5:30 a.m., slept till 9:30 a.m., then spent my day saying goodbyes and had to take a 7:00 p.m. flight back to Nashville which didn’t land till 9:50 at night!  It was a LONG DAY.

… But SO worth it!!

I think I’m hooked… erm, re-addicted(?)

An unlikely couple, huh?  Well let me just show you what stunning results you get when these two get together…

GORGEOUS!  This lovely fiber is Plymouth Yarn’s Royal Llama Silk (color 1241), which recently came in stock at the Neighborhood Knit Shop.  While I realize it’s not a new yarn (it came out autumn 2007), I still thought it warranted mention here — not only because I’m really loving it, but also because llama fiber just doesn’t get much attention.  This isn’t a yarn that I would have ever picked out on my own, had I not seen it at the shop and (more importantly) touched it.

At first glance when you see this yarn on the shelf, it looks woolen and tweedy and quite honestly like it would be extremely scratchy and unpleasant.  Looks are extremely deceptive in this case, though, and I think part of the reason I had to purchase this yarn was due entirely to the “Wow!” moment I experienced when I picked up a hank.  It feels nothing like it appears.  It’s shockingly soft and and slightly-slick (from the substantial silk content).  Even in an unrolled hank, it drapes beautifully.  (There’s a great full review of this yarn on Knitter’s Review.)

Last night, I cast on this cute v-neck top that was specifically designed for this yarn.  The pattern begins with the back-piece, starting with 2 inches of 1×1 ribbing, then stockinette.

I’ve been enjoying every inch of knitting with this yarn so far!  After having worked with sport weight yarn on US size 2 needles for the baby set I just finished, switching over to this aran weight (and US 6 and 8 needles) feels fabulous on my hands.

The fabric that’s being created doesn’t have the best stitch definition, so I wouldn’t use it for a project with cables or a lot of detail.  However, in solid stockinette, it’s perfect because the slubs in the silk create a tweedy texture and really add a lot of interest to what otherwise would be a very plain garment.

I have this idea in my head that I’d like to finish this top in time for my trip home to Pennsylvania next month.  Not sure if I can do it — and not sure if there’s even a point, being that it will probably be too hot to wear it — but it’s worth a shot!

Pattern: Little Bubbles Baby Kit (”blue kit”) from KnitPicks
Yarn: KnitPicks Comfy Sport (included in kit)

I started this project on June 10th and wrapped today, June 14th.  I knit the cardigan first, then the hat, and finally the “moon boot” booties.  I didn’t work especially diligently on it, so I think that two weeks is a remarkably short time considering how little I worked on it each day. (Or more like every few days.)  So this kit certainly scores big points for knitting up fast for last-minute gifting!

I’m so pleased with the little turtle-buttons.  They’re so cute!  Plus, I went with a theme: in addition to the sweater set, I also got all the materials and had my mom sew a turtle baby quilt for them.  Come to think of it, I really hope D & J like turtles… hm.

One place I screwed up was the length of the body of the cardigan.  There was errata for the pattern, and I didn’t bother to look it up.  The pattern says to knit 0.5-inches using the main color (that light teal) before beginning the 1-row stripes.  I did just that.  Turns out, I should have knitted for 1.5-inches.  Whoops.  So it’s an inch short.  But it’s not as though the baby won’t have a shirt on underneath, so hopefully it will still be okay.

If were to knit this over (which I probably will, eventually, because I also bought the neutral-colors kit), there’s a couple things I’d change:

(1) I’d make the garter stitch edge on the bottom of the sweater, the cuffs, and the edge of the hat wider.  The sweater and hat wants to curl so badly because the garter edge isn’t wide enough.  I’m sure it will block out flat, but after the first time it’s washed… honestly, who’s going to block baby clothes every time they wash them?

(2) I’m going to figure out how to knit the “moon boots” (too cute) in the round as opposed to flat.  Seaming the back irritated the heck out of me.

… Oh yah, and follow the errata so that the sweater is the right length next time.

Seriously though, for $13.99 (!) it’s a great kit and I think it’s going to be a great gift.

Of course, just because I’ve been knitting on the same project, doesn’t mean I haven’t acquired new yarn or that I haven’t picked out exactly what my next project is going to be…

Let’s just say it involves a very NEW yarn (for me) … 60% llama, 40% silk … (100% luscious).

Needless to say, I’m really eager to finish this baby gift set.

The cardigan is almost done.  I just have to pick up stitches along the front to knit the button-band on.  I cast on the hat and am into the second row of the bubble-pattern for it.

I’m not looking forward to weaving in ends.  There’s going to be a lot of ends to be woven in.  (Ugh.)  This thing is also going to be seriously, seriously blocked.  I feel like the yoke is pulling it all out of shape.  I’m hoping after a wash it will straighten out.  Perhaps the button-band will help too?

Stuart really hopes I finish soon so I’ll pay more attention to him.

It was a really great turnout.

Thanks to Knit And Crochet TN for organizing the event!

And now I’m back to working on the baby gift…

Remind me not to attempt knitting a “last-minute” baby gift on size 2 needles in the future.

The kit is extremely reasonably priced at $13.99.  It comes with the pattern and yarn to knit a cardigan sweater, hat, and booties in sizes 0-6 months, 6-12 months, or 12-24 months.  The kit comes in three color schemes: blue, pink, or neutral.  All three are lovely.

I wound up getting the neutral kit (pictured) because I loved the color combination so much.  Usually neutral-colored baby things are so “blah”, but this is really lovely.

I also got the blue kit because I have friends who are expecting a little boy very soon, so I thought it would be a great set to knit for them!

My kits came in the mail yesterday and I wasted no time casting on the blue kit’s cardigan.  (This baby will be here soon!)  I was somewhat shocked to see that the pattern calls for size 2 needles!  I never thought I’d attempt knitting a sweater (even a baby-sized one) on size 2 needles.  But here I am, doing just that.  The yarn is sport weight, so it makes for a nice, tight knitted fabric.

Despite the small needle size, it’s going along very quickly. In only a few hours, I’m about 80% of the way through the yoke of the sweater.

I think there’s just something about colorwork.  It holds my interest when none of my other knitting projects can do so.  I’m always wanting to knit just a few more rows to see how the next color will incorporate into the pattern.  Then next thing I know, I’m half way through the garment.  I really should do more multi-color projects like this more often.

Pattern: Spidery Tank by Nichola Thompson (Interweave Knits, Summer 2009)
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too 2nd Time Cotton in “Avocado”

This was an incredibly fast project. I cast on this top on May 9th and finished on May 30th, but I didn’t work on it regularly in that time period.  If I’d worked on it more consistantly, I’m sure it would have been done in less than a week.

This also marks my very first adult-size top that I’ve knitted (or more accurately, completed)!  Huzzah!

I made the largest size (for a 45¼” bust).  I could have gone down a size, but I’m paranoid and didn’t want to end up with something that didn’t fit.  It wasn’t so much the bust that concerned me, instead it was the hip-area, as this top is tunic-length.  But it all worked out and it fits just fine (though a little large, which I still prefer to being too small).

I did four full repeats of the lace pattern.  It’s an easy lace repeat, so don’t let that stop you if you want to knit this top.  My only complaint is that the lace is written out, not charted.  I have a more difficult time memorizing lace when I have to read it as words rather than symbols on a chart.  (But that’s probably just me.)

The top is totally reversible, with the purl side intended as the “right” side.  While I was knitting it, I figured I’d be most likely to wear it “inside-out” with the knits to the outside.  But when I got done, I decided that I actually prefer the purl-side.  I like the way the shoulder strap edges roll upward when its worn this way.  It makes it different and cute!

I’ve had a lot of compliments on this top.  I love wearing it.  I’ve worn it with either jeans or a long brown “boho” type skirt.  So cute!

Being that I had an extra skein of yarn leftover, I’m thinking of making a slouchy lace beret to match…

But I was going to be a good girl this time, and knit up some stash yarn!  So I cast on the simple and lovely Crystal Cove shawl, same as the shop’s shawl.  I’ve been working on it, and I’ve knitted through almost two balls of the suede yarn so far.  Progress!

I’ve also been working on socks, again using stash yarn…

I’ve finished my first Spring Forward sock and first Lacy Ribs sock, and am ready to cast on the second sock of the pair for both.  I’ve also started my Fraggle Squiggle socks, which were the May ‘09 shipment from BMFA’s Rockin’ Sock Club.  Okay… so technically the BMFA yarn is new, not stash.  However, because I paid for the club upfront at the beginning of the year, it still doesn’t count as newly-acquired yarn.  (Right?)

So, you see, I was being really REALLY good.  I was knitting up stash and finishing projects on the needles and/or projects I’d been meaning to knit for quite some time.  Great, right?

Then my mom came to visit.  She’s a quilter first, knitter second.  (Not because she’s not good at knitting — she’s an excellent kntiter. She’s just most passionate about quilting.)  Her thing is knitting socks.  Socks, socks, lots of socks.  But this weekend, someone at the knit shop was knitting this adorable diagonal top, and she decided she’d knit it.  I was so excited!  Mom, knitting something other than socks!

The trouble is, Sharon helped her pick out colors — and in doing so, laid some color combinations out on the table that were so incredibly tempting, that I couldn’t help myself!  My mom is now knitting two of those tops (one for herself, one for a friend), in two different colors, and I picked a third color combination to knit for myself.

I’m using a great combination of yarns.  (And Sharon gets all the credit for picking them out.)  The color scheme is based around handpainted Schaefer Susan (100% cotton) in the Ethel Waters colorway.  Mixed with that are two colorways of Knit One Crochet Too Fringe and some solid-colored Tahki Cotton Classic.

Thankfully, this project seems like it will knit up super fast.  It’s just two garter stitch rectangles, knitted diagonally, much like Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth.  I think it will look super cute with khaki pants for business-casual summer at work!