Saturday 30 January 2016

This week and what's in my stash.

Another busy week - got 2 large orders off to Wet Coast Wools in Vancouver and Kelowna Yarn. Took a road trip to Kelowna to pick up citric acid and deliver the yarns.

They have a cute pair of sheep outside at Kelowna Yarn. There used to be 3, but someone decided they needed one for themselves!


I decided to get into my spinning stash - this is what I am working on right now. I found a bagful of gorgeous kid mohair locks that I had dyed and
just lightly picked.

And this is the first skein I made. I spun the locks and then plied with a thread. The texture and feel are amazing.


So I dug into the stash to see what I need to do. Here are a few discoveries.
 A couple of hundred grams of Bluefaced Leicester and silk.




More silk hankies.
 Some dyed Border Leicester, loosely picked, will spin straight out of the locks.

Some more Border Leicester, loosely picked. Are you getting a feel of my favourite colours?

Also finished a pair of socks for my husband, in Seattle Seahawks colourway sock yarn that I dyed.


Will keep you posted on the stash busting.






Saturday 23 January 2016

My lucky purchase


A friend of mine told me of an electric skein winder for sale that she saw on a Yahoo group. My friend had purchased from this person before, so recommended her. This is what she sold me -
at about $600 less than buying new!






Oh my - what a time saver! I am in heaven!


What's on my wheel right now?



I have been spinning some of my hand dyed Bluefaced Leicester pencil rovings - and found out that plying after a couple of glasses of wine certainly changes the picture! I have different weights of yarn, some will be used for a cozy cowl, some for a hat. But the bobbins are almost a lace weight that I will ply, and have chosen two patterns. Any suggestions?







And I have finally figured out how to dye a self striping yarn! Even though the Seattle Seahawks didn't win this year, their uniforms are great! Making a pair of socks for my husband, who has discovered how soft and cushy hand knit socks knit out of merino/nylon can be.















Friday 15 January 2016

Some of my work this week

This week is "getting back into the groove" week. I finally got my supply of yarn for dyeing (ordered beginning of September) and can start preparing for my orders. Who says you need a turkey roaster to roast a turkey?

I have two of these on the go. I found that the citric acid eventually ate through the insert, so I now buy disposable foil inserts (which eventually get pinholes from the acid also). It has not changed the way my yarns dye.

I finished another pair of socks - these were a failed attempt at a self striping sock blank in Vancouver Canucks colours.
In case you are wondering where I got the cute sock blockers, they are available on Etsy, look up BurningImpressions2. Megan Tilitzky lives in 150 Mile House, British Columbia.

Completed another long lost colourway in Maryanne's Socks - this one goes great with denim.

And this is what I have been doing with my leftover yarn after socks are made.






Saturday 9 January 2016

My Goal for 2016 is -----

Well, it has been quite a while since I wrote a blog, and my goal for this year is to faithfully post one a week. A lot has happened since my last entry
(April 2015) so here goes.


First of all, happy new year to you all. My husband and I celebrated at Tulalip Resort with a bus tour from Kamloops.


Since April, I attended several fibre events, with the largest and busiest being Knit City in Vancouver. This was the 4th year of this event and it gets better every year. I have already booked my space for October 2016.

I have been having a great deal of fun with my yarn dyeing, and I have chosen to dye only 3 bases - merino/nylon superwash fingering (great sock yarn), merino/Stellina superwash fingering (a sparkly yarn, great for shawls) and merino/cashmere/nylon fingering - super soft and luxurious.
Here are a few of my colourways:


 
The sparkly yarn is called "Maryanne's Sparkle"




And I designed my first pattern "Maryanne's Shawlette" which I give away with the purchase of the yarn.




Last but not least, is "Maryanne's Bliss", the merino/cashmere blend. I have dyed several skeins in a gradient fashion and here is a shawl I made
showing the effect.