On my needles

Right now I have 3 projects on the go, which is usually not my style. But I came to a halt on two of them because my brain could not get around the concept, and I needed to knit something else. So I started this Maryanne's Shawlette with one of my favourite sparkle yarn colourways, Persian Nights.

I was knitting this Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf, (free pattern on Ravelry) but put it down and could not remember how to get the triangle to go the other way. Pause until Knit Night for help, should be finished this week. It is my Rock Your Socks colourway.

My second put down is a pair of socks using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel. I have never knit this before, and decided it was time to try. But I needed guidance as the pattern seemed odd to me. I am carrying on though, and if it doesn't work out, goodbye Fish Lips.

On Ravelry, I am a fan of Rachel Smith (no relation) and her blog and podcasts. She is known as Welford Purls. In the group "the wool n spinning podcast group" she has started a Spin and Knit project thread, where you spin your fibre and then knit it. I chose to spin some merino/nylon pencil rovings that I have dyed, and I am making a sport weight 2-ply yarn. I have only one spinning wheel now, my trusty Louet, and using the technique of lacing the bobbin, I am able to spin a very fine yarn on this wheel.

And this is the vest I am planning on knitting.

With all this going on, I am getting ready for a busy season of fibre events, starting with our very own Spin-In in Kamloops, and then on to Fibres West in Cloverdale (www.fibreswest.com)

See you next week.

Knitting and Dyeing

I finished the shawl that I was working on last week, it is now blocked. This pattern is free on Ravelry, Simply Basic, a one skein shawl.

I found this free pattern on Ravelry, for a different kind of cowl. It is called Summer Cowgirl, and you knit the bottom part, block, sew together at the top, pick up stitches, and knit until you run out of yarn. It is also a one-skein cowl. I knit on 4mm needles, but the next one will be on 3.75 mm. It is out of a skein of Maryanne's Bliss, merino/cashmere/nylon blend.

I found these socks in my stash area, forgot about them. They are a sock blank merino/nylon that I dyed in Vancouver Canucks colours.

And speaking of sock blanks, I dyed several this week. My friend knits the

 blanks for me on her knitting machine, and then I dye them and wind into cakes. If you are making socks, start one from the outside and the other from the centre, and they will be identical.

I am knitting a scarf right now out of my Rock Your Socks colourway. It is a free pattern on Ravelry Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf, the triangles are done with short rows, all garter stitch.

What's in the dye pot?

This week I have been trying some new dye techniques, and can't wait to start knitting to see how the yarn turned out. I made my skeins extra large, then dyed 2/3 of them royal blue, and then with a squirt bottle, applied colours to the white portion, leaving some white in between. In the skein I used red, yellow and blue, and in the cake I used purple and lime green.

I love how the colours have blended.

I also have a new colourway in my sock yarn, called Opals. Do you see why?

I have a few knitting projects on the go. The first is a cowl called Summer Cowgirl, free on Ravelry. You knit the cowl to this point, block, then join together and cast on stitches at the top edge, and knit for the neck portion.

This is being knit out of a skein of my Maryanne's Bliss, merino wool,

cashmere and nylon.

The next shawl is not yet blocked, so will be almost twice the size when finished. It was knit out of Maryanne's Sparkle, in a failed dyepot. This pattern is called Pretty Basic, another free pattern on Ravelry.

And it is very easy - garter and yarn overs.

And did you ever wonder what to do with those sock yarn leftovers? Here are a couple of projects. The first is Greemy Baby Booties, free pattern on Ravelry. They took 12 grams of yarn. They are my Seattle Seahawks colourway.

Next is a really cute cardigan, which took 70 grams of leftover yarn. It is also a free pattern on Ravelry called Linnie.

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 pound of black alpaca rovings.

 A couple of hundred grams of Bluefaced Leicester and silk.

About 50 grams of my dyed silk hankies.

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.

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.

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.

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 sock yarn is called "Maryanne's Socks" appropriately.

 

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.

I am now on Instagram, you can follow me there, and also on Facebook - smith and ewe.