Slowing down on Sunday

Sunday was a day of rest. I made a nest on the sofa and settled in. I skipped to the end of the Book and read about how the Good and Loving defeats the evil and hateful. I watched Sastre win the Tour in Paris. Matilda got to live with Miss Honey. Dorothy wore the ruby slippers. Mr. Deeds (Gary Cooper) forgave the woman who broke his heart. I tried to not knit but I couldn't help myself (my hand has been feeling used and abused). I enjoy knitting this Honeybee stole in the honey-colored yarn. It is not a color I would normally choose, but in this case I could not resist it.

A friend said that if I show anyone this knitting I need to explain that the pink yarn is just the crochet chain for my provisional cast on and will be removed. I think the color combination made her cringe.

Knitting with handspun

Very satisfying. The beginnings of a sock.

My day off

I had a day off last Sunday and decided to squeeze in as much fiber fun as I could.

I wound the 2-ply handspun off the bobbin, soaked it, and hung it. It is fingering to sport weight and will become socks.

It came from these two braids of BFL from Capistrano Fiber Arts purchased at Black Sheep Gathering...
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I tried a dyeing experiment on my garter stitch shawl. This is the shawl that was knit out of my first 2-ply handspun that I dyed in mushroom water. I smeared Chestnut-color dye on black plastic placed outside on a hot surface in the heat of the day. I got my shawl damp but not wet so that the dye would stay on the garter ridges instead of soaking all the way through. I messed up and the dye pooled on the plastic. I decided to add a little vermillion to give it highlights, so I put dye in a pie pan and dripped/painted it on the scarf with a rolled-up paper towel. Afterwards, I heated the shawl in the microwave for a minute or two and then soaked it in vinegar water to really set the vermillion color. It turned out different from my goal, but I actually still like it and will wear it next season.
It is hard to show the exact color....
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I was asked to test knit some sock yarn for my LYS.
Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Saucon Sock yarn. I prefer wool yarn, but this cotton and acrylic sock yarn was nice to work with. It was not splitty and held up well even after being ripped a couple of times.
Pattern: Waving Lace socks from Interweave Knits magazine.
The color is actually a darker medium blue. I had to use the flash to coax my camera to show the stitch pattern.
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Lastly, I cast on the Honeybee Stole, a Knit Spot pattern. Anne is one of my favorite designers and bloggers. Two rows of lace does not make an interesting picture.

Random thoughts

Be the fiber.....


This is a friend whom I met up with at Black Sheep Gathering last month. She is a traveling nurse and recently came back to the west coast. She knits, crochets, spins, and dyes fiber, and she taught me a lot about color when we attended the same knitting group.



Never give up, never surrender......
There are 3 of us chanting that now - me, my zucchini, and the bugs who want to colonize my humble zucchini patch. We have all taken heavy losses.


Bee Blessed.....
When I planted my lavender patch I had no idea that I was actually growing a bee garden. I often see at least 6 different kinds of bees in my lavender. They are all very good natured and busy busy.


I have a bobbin of 2-ply handspun BFL that I cannot wind off because my niddynoddy broke. I am anxious to see how it knits up. The summer term started this week and now life outside of work seems to be on hold. I hope to be able to make time for knitting in between teaching and typing.