Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Two socks make not a pair!

It was nice to have a break from knitting. I didn't know how much I can get done, when I don't use every free minute to knit. Of course I could not go totally without fiber related projects, not even for one day! I brought some order into my stash,and general order in my living room, which really is my fiber room. I ripped out and wound the wool for the mitts I started. I thought they might make a nice chevron scarf - maybe. I wound all six skeins of Koigu for my upcoming shawl KAL, and the most fun was dyeing yarn with turmeric. I found the idea here and information how to go about it here. This was a lot of fun. I like the smell of turmeric, and use it in cooking as often as possible. I love how the yarn turned out. This rich yellow, with some lighter spots. I like almost solid colors. I've used Knit Picks Bare, superwash fingering weight yarn. It's merino wool though. Might knit some socks with it, even though I'm not a fan of merino socks, but I hope they will hold up with wear and tear.


Now I want to dye some more with natural dyes. I'll see what I can find in my kitchen. The thing is, turmeric does not need a mordant, but pretty much all the other "dyes" do. I read somewhere that one can boil a tin can in water for a few hours to get a bath for the yarn you want to dye later. So I'm boiling some tin cans right now. I know there are rules about dyeing, but I don't care. As long as I'm not using toxic ingredients I don't care much, if the color will fade, but for good measure I'm always including vinegar. If it does no good, so be it. If the color will hold, great. You can get a lot of yellow, orangey, redish colores, but I want some pale green. No idea where I can get something like that. So, my next best thing is tea bags or red cabbage or better yet, beets! I like to eat them too. Two days ago I managed to get a little knitting done. It helps when the yarn is thick, the project is a sock, and the needles are 3.25mm. The right sock is the secret (only to my son) sock for his birthday. I can only work on it, when he's not around, and I have to hide all evidence of it, because he's real good in guessing, when something's for him. You might ask yourself, why it fits on my right foot so well? We have almost the same shoe size, his a tiny bit larger, but his feet are WIDE! This is a funny sock. The cables down front, and the ribbing pattern all around make this a VERY stretchy sock, and it morphs back and encases everything you stick in it. I'll let you know more about it as soon as the pair is done.

My left foot is showing off the "Woven Ridge Sock" by Cat Bordhi (page 98 for those who have the book). It's the same yarn she used in the book, but the sizing was real trouble. More about that later too. Just wanted you to know, that I have not thrown away my knitting needles!


I thought this paw was just too cute. The evening, when I didn't feel so good, I was sitting and watching TV on our love seat. Nobody else but the dogs at home at that moment. There's also a really big leather sofa, which seats three giants if need be, and it was empty. Normally her favorite spot to curl up and snooze.

Not so that evening. She came, "asked" if she could join me (she pauses, and waits for me saying "up"before she climbes on a sofa). I was surprised (she's not a cuddly dog ususally), but it's nice to have your furry friend beside you (even if still slightly damp). Anyway, Biko curled up beside me, which was not easy, and started to "purr" almost like a cat (have never heard that from another dog), her paw resting on the big gymnastic ball.



This picture shows you how "in tune" Sam is with me! Ha! I was all wired and uncomfortable, while he was relaxed as can be. OR he thought Biko was taking care of business anyway, and he was off the hook. OR maybe he didn't like Jane Fonda in the movie "Mother-Monster- in Law" (or something, I'm so bad with titles).

It was actually a funny movie, mindless. I was very glad to see Wanda in it, she's very funny. My least favorite in this movie was/is JLo. Anyway.
It rained over night, I'm very happy about rain these days, even if it's humid afterwards. I don't think the temps will go back up to over 30 C this year. I'm welcoming fall with open arms.

Now, off to do some house work, and hopefully some knitting later. By the way, I'm a still a little scared of my spinning wheel, after last times disaster! I still have to decide if I keep going with the Lincoln or get it off the wheel and resume my mohair/wool blend. Oh, and I picked up a huge bag (5 different colors of mohair/wool blend each 250g) of roving the day before yesterday, this will keep me busy for the next two years or so. ;o)

Have a nice day, you all!

19 comments:

Strickfimmel said...

Die neue selbstgefärbte Wolle sieht fantastisch aus. SUPER FARBE! Gefällt mir sehr gut. Auch die beiden neuen Socken sehen klasse aus. Wenn man mutig ist, kann man sie doch auch so tragen, oder (lach)? Auch Sam's Foto ist ein gelungener Schnappschuss. Kommt mir doch irgendwie bekannt. Woher nur???

maitai said...

mmmmm BEETS! they're nature's candy, you know?

shannon said...

Josie will purr at me every once in a while (when I need it). I just love Biko and Sam so very much!!!

It's good to take a break every so often (even if it's just for fifteen minutes...LOL).

Sue J. said...

Milo purrs and lays on his back for a belly rub all the time. Isn't it amazing how your sweetie knew you needed to cuddle time and asked to get up and snuggle with you? Our pets are more atune to us than we realize. They read us like a book.

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Dying yarn looks like such fun! Tumeric - who would have thought - LOL. Sam looks wonderfully content and happy - I love to see a dog relaxed and happy enough to lay that way. BTW, beagles are (to know knowledge) the only dog breed that has the ability to "purr." I was astonished the first time I heard Mr Puffy do it. Maybe other breeds can do it as well? Oh, I think a chevron scarf would be a fabulous choice with that yarn!

Anonymous said...

I love the Turmeric yarn - SOMEDAY I want to learn about natural dyeing. I even got a book about it from the library, but took it back before trying anything.
Both of your single socks are beautiful!
I got a confused headache reading Cat's book last night - I think I need to put yarn to needles and not try to figure it out in my head first.

Bea said...

I love turmeric, as a spice, and now as a yarn dye! Your yarn looks beautiful, very Malabrigo-y. That's so cute that your doggie kept you company, I used to have a wonderful red Dobie, and she loved to cuddle with you, when sitting on the couch next to me, she would put her paw on my leg when she wanted some love :)

hakucho said...

Your socks are beautiful as always. Didn't know you can dye with turmeric. You ended up with such a cheerful color. Very pretty.
When I was a kid I used to dye my Easter eggs with onion skins and beets. I would imagine they would be good for dyeing yarn too.

happy knitting :)

Knittypants said...

The tumeric dyed yarn is gorgeous. I don't normally like yellow, but that is one of the prettiest yellow shades I have seen. Look forward to seeing more of your natural dyeing efforts.

Anonymous said...

I love the paw pic and the sleeping doggy pic!

TracyKM said...

The yellow is pretty!
When I was a kid, my aunt had sheep and was into the natural dyeing. My cousin and I spent many hours picking goldenrod, lichen, collecting black walnuts....

eyeleen said...

Love the yellow! Now i have to try the tumeric.

Now that's a picture of a happy dog, so cute.

Debi said...

I LOVE the yellow yarn and that pic of Sam is a hoot!

Angelika said...

I love the vibrant yellow color and especially, when it's a little shaded and "uneven". I think it makes the knitted item more interestng than a plane one even color.

Anonymous said...

Nice secret sock and stripey sock too. The paw is lovely. A lot of asking with a paw goes on here too. In fact I can get little proddy reminders with a paw too. Sam is so funny, both The Labradors lie like this, it must be a Labrador thing. MIne lie like this too cool themselves off, or to sleep!!! (Harki 'purrs' and snores!!!)

Teresa said...

oh neat yarn! I like the yellow color in it. (I really like the throw behind it too.:D)

The socks are great. I have the same problem with my husband. I have to remember all of his measurements because if I start measuring him, he'll guess what I'm making. I wonder if he'll wake up if I measure him while he's asleep.

My cat only purrs when there's food or..food.

T-Mom said...

ROTFL!!! That picture of Sam is hilarious!! Cute, funny boy! And how sweet of your girl. Taenzer does that, too, snuggles when I need it.

Violiknit said...

I love that turmeric dyed color! It's so beautiful! It's so hard to find good "yellow" yarn out there. Those sock are both fantastic! Sam certainly knows how to strike a pose :)

Kristy said...

Just curious, how has the turmeric dye held up in the past year? It's a lovely color! I dyed yarn last year with beets, and I'm thinking about trying turmeric with the same type of yarn this year :)