| spring report |
monday 03.20.2006 |
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isn't it a terrible picture? i finished the craft sweater for a month now and still haven't got a decent picture of it to show you. i wear it nearly daily, flaws and all.
after craft i started another saddle shoulder sweater.
noro kureyon 95
i'm aiming to give it away as a birthday present in june. wool in summer, it ought to make for a memorable present.
other than that, i haven't had much success with knitting. i started on three different socks and promptly gave up on two of them.
next up i'm going to attempt knitting the zimmermann fair isle yoke sweater. i've got all the numbers worked out and ready to go but i'm afraid to cast on. i hope to get it started this week. wish me luck.
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| the natural progression of schmee |
tuesday 03.21.2006 |
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last week bean the knitter asked knitters she knows for 4x4 squares. she is collecting them to make a baby afghan. my contribution so far:
4x4x4
i whipped them up last night, blocked and all. i made the right one first and the left one last with the same needles, yarn weight, and number of stitches. but they did not turn out to be the same size. why?
sigh.
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| note to self: sew! |
wednesday 03.22.2006 |
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this past saturday i went fabric shopping with marin of java station knit group. we hit blue islands and a couple of thrift stores. i now have a proper stash of fabrics.
so for the past three nights, i scoured through my japanese craft book library for sewing inspiration. i thought i'd share it with you.
can't get any simpler
reminiscent of the plastic grocery bag
great shape for a knitting bag
i don't think it could get any cuter
or any more clever (cleverer?)
how much i want to make the last bag! i love sling straps and just look at that sleek transition! alas, it takes more skills than i have right now, sewing on a curve and all. may be marin could show me how.
yay, marin!
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| linky dinks |
friday 03.24.2006 |
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"i hate going to the dentist!"
i'm due for another root canal tomorrow. to distract myself from the impending torture, i've been looking at these neat websites:
a. felt pouches and totes, great ideas for leftover yarns, to knit
and felt that is.
b. look at these dye jobs! i would really like to try it.
c. wouldn't this make for an interesting series of blog posts?
d. speaking of which, i really enjoyed listening to this npr article
about blogging.
e. japan based blogger, an all around creative genius. browse her
archives and see.
f. a valid rant as i'm socially inept and am often guilty of it.
g. a great tutorial for handling wool and spinning yarn.
h. an inexpensive source for merino roving along with excellent
customer service.
i. last but not least, quilts! i've been drooling over her book for
months. i hope to get a quilt started in april. wanna join me?
totally random list. anyway, enjoy your dentist free weekend, everyone.
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| sheep mugging |
monday 03.27.2006 |
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i bought that yesterday while i was on clement street. i just about fell over when i saw it.
i've seen cats, dogs, rabbits, elephants, and even monkeys on japanese ceramics but never sheep! i wanted to buy more but it was the last. said they'll be back in stock in a few weeks so i hope to get a dozen. or may be just eleven.
could make for an interesting activity
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| live well, dye happy |
wednesday 03.29.2006 |
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monday night i attended spin group with my new best friend, erin o'brien*, and we conspired on doing all manners of fun crafts and activities like spinning, quilting, field trips, etc. our topic at hand is dyeing.
my obsession with dyes and dyeing began some two weeks ago when barbara of spin group gave me (and erin) loads of plain roving. believe it or not, i managed to lose my portion. so, this past monday i asked (shamelessly begged) edith for scrap rovings. she dug up a large wad in creamy white for me.
last night, on barbara's tip, i went to smart+final and bought 32 oz each of three food colors: red, blue, and egg yellow.
shopping at smart+final is an experience worth telling. it was my second time in that store, the first to make a purchase. there were three attendants and none could give me the location of the dye section. actual responses i got:
1. hm (long bewildered pause) are you sure? i don't think we carry that stuff.
2. dyes? for food? i'd guess second half of aisle 2.
3. this is my first day, see? (pointing at chest repeatedly) try aisle 5, yeah, may be?
i pretty much walked every square foot of the store. i now know exactly where the dyes are at smart+final. for a small fee, i will disclose this information.
anyway, i was very pleased with the prices. they're super inexpensive compared to the dyes serious folks use. i think it makes for a great experiment when cost is not an issue.
batch one, one hour, dried
i dyed two batches, loosely following the instructions i found earlier. i nuked the rolls instead of steaming because i'm lazy plus i don't have a rack-ready pot. the only variation in the process is letting batch one (image above) sit for an hour and batch two overnight.
batch two, overnight, drying
i am very pleased with the way they both turned out. i have to wait for batch two to dry completely before i can study if extended dye exposure makes a difference. the conclusion so far is thumbs up for liquid food dye. yay for smart+final!
next topic: acquiring suzie.
* why erin is my new best friend: she went fabric shopping for a quilt even though she does not have a sewing machine! woman after my own heart!
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| the dye is cast |
friday 03.31.2006 |
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last night i showed off my rovings to the java station knit group. i lamented about the second batch being too bright and erin suggested dyeing wool that isn't solid white. it so happens that i own a small ball of natural gray roving. as of 10 pm last night, it ain't gray no mo.
batch three
the roving was given to me (without begging) by melinda of the another knit group. she brought it back from new zealand herself. anyway, i dyed it last night and while i let it sit for an hour, i took to spinning.
1.25 ounces
i used my drop spindle to whip that up, using rovings from batch one and two alternately. i had no idea what to expect.
side one
it isn't very much yarn for 90 minutes of spinning but the colors aren't bad, yeah? i can't say enough about how pleased i am with the result.
side two
of course, the star of this entire post, an impulse buy i made some two years ago at dharma trading in san rafael:
gives suzie a run for her money
have a colorful weekend, everyone!
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