EXPERIMENTING...

with two different needle sizes.

The one in front is with size 3 double pointed needles,

and the one in back is size 4.

Size 3 won out for this particular basic sock pattern.

The strips and rust colored yarn were put in to make them look more sporty.

The multi colored yarn was a gift to myself from Buku Yarns in LaVerne, Ca.

I also bought another colorway and gifted it to Aileen for our Fiber class.

It was time for her to learn to knit socks.

She's almost done and they are gorgeous.

They will be featured in another post.

I washed these gently in the sink so they wouldn't shrink or pill,

even though they are a super wash merino yarn base.

Supposedly I can throw them in the washing machine

but I'm too much of a chicken to do that after spending hours knitting them.

But instead,

 they grew enormously by a good inch in each direction,

as well as becoming incredibly soft and limp from the gentle sink washing.

I freaked out because they were now way too large 

so I did something I'd never recommend,

 and tossed them in the dryer for a few mins.

Zilch...nada...still ginormous!!

No...

Next I laid them out to finish drying and the next day,

 miraculously,

 they were back to the perfect size I needed

(the ones on size 4 needles a bit larger).

I honestly don't understand what happened.

Just chalking it up to experience and a lesson learned.

SHORTY SOCK PEEK

Almost finished with Shorty Sock #1 from the skeins you saw spun up in last post.

Remember,

 these spinning batts came from Lindsey at Artifacts of Appreciation 

as well as her pattern for Shorty Socks.

I learned two new techniques:

a twisted 1 by 1 rib for the cuff,

 and a Dutch Heel Turn.  

Loved the new heel turn technique but hated the twisted ribbing.

The heel turn adds a bit of extra fiber for wear,

but the twisted rib,

well it was twisted

 and hard to get my needle point into each stitch to knit and purl

thru the back of every stitch.

But ohhh does it look nice!

For the cuff I used the dyed BFL/Silk braid spun and plied on itself.

For body of sock Lindsey's spun batts plied on themselves,

and for the heel,

the braid spun and plied with Lindsey's batts.

What I wasn't pleased with is the irregular stripping of sock body batts.

So for the second sock I'm going to experiment more with mixing the 5 batts up more frequently as I spin.

Not super concerned that they won't exactly match when knitted up,

since they are just to wear around the house in the evenings.

At the same time 

(because I have to have at least 10 or more projects going on at one time),

I'm restoring this older spinning wheel which was donated to me by 3-D art student and Alumni Rachel Strong.

Trying to remember when she graduated,

sometime in the early1990's I believe.

She was one of my Crafts superstars back in the day 

and really loved spinning her own yarn.

So her parents bought her this Ashford wheel 

to take with her to Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.

After she graduated,

 it came back home with her to Cypress, Ca. 

where she volunteered her time in several Elementary schools 

showing the kids the how-tos of spinning.

But of course life got too busy for her to spin,

a child as well as the Owner/Dance instructor of her own Strong Dance Studio.

Needless to say this wheel has some history behind it.

It was stored in my kiln room 

(which was always a big mess about to be cleaned up type of a place)

for many years and has since lost some of its parts,

namely a Footman and it's Treadle.

But with the help of my husband 

I'm pretty sure we could fabricate those,

 unless,

 anyone out there has any other ideas?

I just finished gluing up the bottom of the Mother of All

so I'm pretty excited about that.

And have watched a few videos about taking the wheel completely apart

to de-rust and restore parts and finishes.

I can do this!

After all,

I put my first Ashford together 40+ years ago from scratch,

by myself,

and it only took me a full day.

HA!

SOCK YARN OBSESSED

Going wild lately with my pension dollars on Indie dyed yarns,

and there are so many dyers out there with beautiful color ways to choose from.

Found this gorgeous skein online from Ancient Arts Yarn in Canada,

and sort of joined their color of the month club

Road Trip Across Canada

 (only buying when I can't live without each month's color way).

And this one,

January's,

above and 2 photos below represents the hills, valleys and skies across Canada.

It was love at first sight.

Here is February's color way called Sunshine Coast,

also extremely striking but I passed on this one.

Just a bit too wild and bright for my taste.

Front side of January's skein.

A lot of these dyers put their color on Fingering weight yarns

(super thin).

This one is 80 % Merino and 20% Nylon,

and is on their Passion 8 base,

a heavier Fingering Weight yarn with 8 plies.

Super soft next to the skin yet the nylon lends itself for sock making,

plus I will add a reinforcement strand at heel and toe area for more wear.

So far this yarn is going into a pair of nightie socks for my husband

who is very hard on his socks.  

Here it is caked into a ball.

Funny,

I didn't think it was as beautiful after I saw it in this format,

so we will see how it knits up.

Here is another recent purchase.

First saw it at Buku Yarns in La Verne, Ca. and really gravitated to it.

But I had just bought the other so I passed it up.

But all weekend it kept sneaking into my consciousness,

 messing with me.

You all know how that is,

right??

So back I went and bought it.

Have you ever seen blues put with the complimentary color way of green and red?

Well maybe years ago in some Xmas fabric, 

but not in a yarn.

Scrumptious!

Backside...

and caked up.

In this one the balling up really disguises all the lovely values of each color.

With this yarn I'm planning on knitting socks for myself

with a new pattern I found online which features a bit of lace around the leg.

But I promised my hubby to finish his socks first.

:)

Next while looking around online I ran across Row One Yarn Club,

oh noooooooo! 

This one is a monthly club as well,

and features 12 different Indie dyers from around the whirled.

Above and below is my first month's package.

These are color ways by an Indie dyer who calls her company Murky Depths.

I actually don't see anything murky about them,

just very sweet color mixes.

They total 100 yards,

also in a thin Fingering Weight yarn,

but not enough to make a pair of socks,

 I don't think,

so I will be searching for pattern ideas.

Or perhaps wait until more batches come in and combine them into something 

like a very soft baby blanket.

Not sure if you noticed what's in the cellophane package of hearts?

A Valentine themed stitch marker 

that I'll give tonight to knit-mate Aileen

 when she comes over for our weekly get-together.

And last but not least,

Row One also included a sticker and yummy bag of M&M's.

And this recent batch that just came in is also from Ancient Arts Yarn.

These baby skeins are referred to as Socknado Twisters,

and come in a zillion different color ways.

They are a Merino/Nylon blend for socks but on a different base that is only a 3 ply.  

Really wanting to experiment with different plies and bases to knit socks with.

Looking for something that's not terribly expensive,

yet doesn't pill up when worn or washed.

Sadly these little booties I made for my hubby a couple of years ago

didn't hold up at all,

although in this pix I had just finished making them.

They are superwash Merino/Nylon and really should have been hand washed

(even though the label says superwash).

 But my dear husband didn't realize that and threw them in the washer after his first wearing.

They came out a mess,

 pilled and partially felted up.

Of course he wanted to know what had happened to them.

It took everything in me to not scold him and make him feel bad after I had spent hours crafting them.

So I explained very nicely what happened and took them away from him immediately, 

pulled the pills off, re-wet gently in sink and blocked them dry.

They look better but they will never be the same.

Lesson learned.

HA!

Looking forward to each month being filled with wonderful surprises

from Row One.

I'll keep you posted.