Block by Block and Coily Things

You've heard of Rebuilding Greensburg - Block by Block? Last night I started this block with wool I dyed with icing color; it's going quickly*, so I bet I'll make several before starting another pair of socks.

*Though I've noticed that not all the oil in the icing color washed out of the yarn yet. It feels a bit like how I suspect unwashed, "in the grease" wool feels while being knitted, plus my fingers turned a bit purple. The knitted fabric feels OK, though.

The first draft of my semi-secret knitting project is almost done; it's just waiting for me to put in a zipper and weave yarn tails in.

On the gadget front, I've got a new knitting notion hack. You've seen the Clover Coil Needle Holders around and maybe they've struck you as a little pricey compared to other options (such as yarn or hair elastics). I found this key ring retainer (and a couple others in different colors) at the dollar store. Make sure the coil is fairly firm. Some of the key chain coils were thinner and flimsier and wouldn't work at all well for keeping needles together.

Got out my wire cutters and a stitch holder, and Bob's my uncle, I now have a bunch of inexpensive needle holders.

The stitch holder is sitting in the spout of the blue enamelware coffee pot (like this one) I use for straight needles so the little coils are easy to manage.


The latches and key rings are in the stash (what, your stash only has yarn?) for a future project.

Ta, ta for now!

PS: It occurred to me after posting this that those coil bracelet keyrings might work for larger needles. I don't have one and haven't seen them lately, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Cooking Wool and Drink Mix

Yesterday I got the urge to dye yarn for socks. Not that I don't have some colorful ready-to-knit sock yarn already.

A few months ago I bought a generous number of blue KoolAid packets on clearance for about a nickle a pop. So each of the five dye pots started with two packs. Then I added a yellow, tan, green, light green, and another blue. Draped the damp yarn in the jars and slid the whole thing into the microwave (thank goodness for removeable turntables!). Here are views of the five loaded jars.

That brown one looked olive green in person, and I was surprised that they dye came out cocoa brown. It was a good surprise.


Here's the resulting colorful wool cake, snapped in overcast conditions on my "antique" milk box.

The colors are more intense and greener in person. This scan is more accurate, but not perfect, as the yarn is much more blue and green than it appears in either picture.


The second Gras Jaywalker is about half done; I knit about half the heel flap last night. By pure chance, the color segments on the two socks are identical so far. Maybe the second heel will have a sock money mouth, too!

ADDED LATER: Here are the five color "recipes" I used:

Brown: 4 ice blue + 2 tamarindo

Blue 2?: 3 ice blue + 1 lemonade

Blue 1: 3 ice blue

Green 1: 2 ice blue + 1 lime

Green 2: 2 ice blue + 1 arctic green

I suspect a "secret" to easy color creation is to start with a base color and tweak for more colors. Here, my base is 2 ice blue packs. One combination I tried and rejected was ice blue + black cherry, but the red overpowered the blue and I didn't want a christmassy effect.

How do I [Love|Hate] Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

Today is day 13 of a miserable viral (thus no antibiotics) cold, and I've been in slow mode (though things are speeding up except when coughing). I have been knitting a little bit, though the cats can tell you it's not smart to hang out in the lap of a knitter with a *cough* *stab* *cough*. Here's my most recent sock about which I have mixed feelings:

1. Yarn: mystery wool I dyed with Kool Aid (grape, black cherry, and mystery red flavors) a year ago. I wasn't sure about the colors as seen in the hank, but knitted up, I like it a lot. I plan to hand wash because the wool could be 100% feltable, so any fading should be minimized. I also like the yarn's texture and knittability; it's a single and doesn't split, and it's soft.
2. Pattern: Based on Widdershins. I didn't like the 5-stitch cable because it was too tight, so took out the center P and moved it to the center of the K2 between the cables, resulting in a K4, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1 repeat with the cables spaced 8 rows apart. I like the result. The 9-stitch multiple set me up for...
3. Picot Hem: My first attempt at this type of hem. I sewed the stitches down (see the needle?) and had to fuss with them to get them tight enough but not too tight. I think I should try knitting the facing on smaller needles. So far I'm abivalent.
4. Figure Eight cast on: This is my second pair of toe-up socks, and I wanted to try a different toe. I do like this cast on, though it required some tightening of the cast on stitches after I knit a few rows. I have to do exactly the same sort of operation after Kitchener stitch, so no biggie because I don't have to Kitchener.
5. Upside Down Heel Flap: Knit per the Widdershins instructions, this heel came out really well, and I like it. The opposite of picking up stitches for the gusset is P2tog and SSK, so there's no chance of "picking up" too many or too few.
6. Size: It's about 3/4 inch too long in the foot. Grrrrrrrr. I'll probably rip the toe and reknit it with a kitchener ending. I actually knit the heel twice because the sock was too short the first time! We know what "they" say about the third.
7. Timing: It's unlikely I'll get it fixed and the 2nd sock knit in March, though I might give it a try. On the bright side, my April SAM3 socks might be nearly half done.
   

Harry Potter and the Dyeing Knitter

JK Rowling gave a holiday gift to her site's visitors last week, or at least to the ones who could find it! The Harry Potter Lexicon have directions and much discussion if you're interested.

The name of the 7th Harry Potter book is apparently going to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After cruising Onelook and Wikipedia, I'm currently of the opinion that the Deathly Hollows are the horcruxes themselves and/or their locations. My reasoning? Hallows as a noun is defined as holy or saints' relics or the shrines holding them. Now holiness and saints aren't part of the HP storyline, but relics certainly are, and the horcruxes are deadly in their creation, potentially in their destruction, and for Voldemort in their absence during the final confrontation with Harry. BTW, these are my own thoughts, thunk up all by myself before glancing at hp-lexicon.

Now for KNITTING content! Last night I started a pair of Fuzzy Feet for myself. The pair I made for my sister turned out pretty well and I wanted to keep them for myself but lacked another gift idea or time to knit another pair. Here they are felted:



And here they are before felting, shown with an ordinary sock for scale:




Made from Knit Picks Sierra in Lettuce, they came out very roomy because the yarn is thicker than the pattern calls for. BTW, canvas shopping bags make good "roughage" for felting. But not fringed throw rugs (ask me how I know!).

The pair for me is made from two strands of Lion Fisherman's Wool, part of which I dyed with Wilton dyes. Here are the results from that dyeing day:



I used the two purple hanks as stripes in the cuffs of the "natural" colored wool. Tell me, what natural wool needs a dye lot number??? Before and after pictures to be taken. The slippers are 7/8 complete, an accomplishment achieved by watching NCIS and 4 installments of Taken, a pretty good 10-part alien abduction saga produced by Spielberg and others. No wonder I got so far on the slippers last night!