Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ugly yarn part 2!

I almost posted this to another blog, thank god there was an error on the page, so I could realize where I was. Maybe the dye pot fumes went straight to my head?
Well, it looks like this yarn has got the better of me, because it will not even try to please me. I think I should have left it alone, but who could have known, that it would turn out even uglier than before?
I punished it by throwing it into the hot water of my dye pot. I thought we'll start with a little lavender, which did nothing, such a subtle change, just made it uglier. Now I pulled out the color vermilion, which I really don't like, but it came with a kit. To my surprise it did not change the yarn, it just wasn't as vibrant as in the beginning. Now I pulled out a strong color, not even caring anymore: sapphire blue. That did the trick, to further punish it, I left it in the pot for an hour. It sure is blue now, right?! But even after that long soak, it did not cover it evenly.
In the following pictures you'll see three things:
1. Maggie's yarn for a shawl
2. Hannah's Mermaid socks
3. Obstinate ugly yarn


My creation

1. Maggie's yarn for a shawl: Maggie asked me, if I would like to knit a shawl with her yarn for Knitters Frolic. I of course, said yes, I would. I threatened to design my own shawl. Well, I have some time, I can always knit one from my books, if it turns out to be a disaster. I've been swatching, and ripping, and pulling my hair, but it's fun, really!

2. Hannah's Mermaid socks: They are called "Mermaid socks" because the colorway is mermaid. The yarn is Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino sock yarn. It's such a pleasure to work with it, not sure about how they will hold up to wear. It's 2-ply sock yarn, the yarn is soft. I was sceptical about the color, when I first saw it, but knit up I think it's wonderful. I like the color combination, and it kind of striped, not quite pooling, which makes me happy. If I hadn't promised these socks to Hannah (she gave me the yarn for Christmas, and I thought since she picked it, she must like the color), and I cast on only 56 stitches, I would have kept them for myself. Than again, I'm hard on my socks, so they would not last very long with me.
I knit them toe-up, which I haven't done in a while. I tried to do Judy's magic cast on, but it was more like a figure 8 cast on, since I could not remember how to do it. I was too lazy to search for the instructions, buried somewhere in a pile of print out paper. It worked , if not as well as I remembered. Same thing with the jojo heel. Haven't done it in so long. I guess, if you don't use it, you loose it. I was too stubborn to go look that up also. In the end it worked, it came back to me, as I was doing it. The second heel turned out much better, since I did a few things differently, so there would not be those holes. And, after finishing the first sock, I suddenly knew how to do Judy's magic cast on, like I just had it done yesterday. Funny thing, memory.

yarn: Celestial Merino, 2-ply, 100g/310yds, colorway: mermaid, I had left over
cast on: 56 sts
needles: 2.5mm, 5-DP, the label said to use 3mm needles, but I could have used 2.25mm and it would have been quite alright.
start-finish: March 17-19 - I was kind of in a rush, since there was already Maggie's shawl in my head.

3. Ugly yarn: I'm now quite intrigued, and would like to know how it looks all knit up. I think this will be punished even further, by being knit up rather sooner than later. Ha, and after that I'll put it away, to never see the light of day again. (Evil laughter.)

If you celebrate, I wish you Happy Easter, otherwise, welcome Spring!

23 comments:

Tracy Purtscher said...

LOL you're going to tick off a lot of blue loving people! I don't really see the ugly either but hey, it's your yarn!

Love the Mermaid socks....I have GOT to try that heel. I even know where my directions are! Hmmmmm maybe I ought to start a pair of socks soon, I haven't made any since Fall.

Happy Equinox!

Anonymous said...

Did you post pictures of the ugly yarn? I thought all the yarn you showed was pretty. :-)

Marianne said...

Huh, that is SO not ugly yarn! seriously. that blue yarn?!? I love it!

ok... the shawl yarn is gorgeous, what a lovely soft pink.. and I've gotten to knit with the Neatby yarn a couple of times, loved knitting with it!

Happy Spring and Easter!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

That poor yarn - I'm sure it does not deserve this! Do please elaborate on the Knitters Frolic next post :)

sgeddes said...

Oh,I don't think that is ugly at all! I'll like to see if you soften your opinion once you knit it up.

I think the shawl will be beautiful and Hannah's socks came out very nice

Maggie said...

I'm going to risk getting booed here, and agree with you, Monika! I don't love the yarn, either!

I think it's so nice that everyone is saying such nice things about your yarn, but I know how you feel. We are so critical of our own work and sometimes no matter what, we can't see the loveliness that other people can see. :)

lexa said...

The yarn isn't that bad! The socks are very pretty. I like the ribbed section above the heel. I usually knit my vanilla socks on 2.25mm needles, 60sts, but I find that they are kinda baggy right in that spot. Never thought of doing some ribbing there. I think next pair I'll try it. (I've also seen people do ribbing on the bottom of the foot in the arch, but I don't have a problem there.)

Maggie Tipping said...

I knit my first pair of socks with Lucy's yarn. It holds up to wear very well, but it does shrink a little in the dryer over time.

knittingpanda said...

I don't think that it is that ugly at all. I kind of liked it both before you dyed it and after.

Anonymous said...

Where do you have that ugly yarn? I cannot see it anywhere? Wood you please show it to me? I only see lovely and perfect yarns. . . Where could it be?


Hanne from CH

Anonymous said...

So now the yarn is blue now. I like the color. Please explain why the yarn is still ugly?!

Nice socks!

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

wow! I don't think it's ugly before or now, so I'll be interested to see how it knits up!

susannasplace said...

Happy Easter and of course... blue is much better than pink :). And I love those Mermaid Socks. The colours are great.

Holly said...

Sounds like you have two choices (since the yarn is really no longer ugly) - punish yourself by knitting it or sell it on esty.....

Kelley said...

I love the way the short-row heel worked with the yarn on those socks! And isn't it fun to plan a shawl? I love seeing what I'm imagining coming to life!

TracyKM said...

I actually thought that yarn was quite pretty before :)

hakucho said...

Hannah's mermaid socks are gorgeous!! I LOVE the color :)

Anonymous said...

How is Biko doing with her recuperation? Any more outside photos yet?

Mo

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't call it ugly - granted, I'm not a fan of that blue, but it just might surprise you once you knit it up!

I love the Mermaid socks!

Kris B said...

Oh I really like that ugly yarn. Actually, I love the color :).

Very nice Mermaid socks. It looks like the ribbing on the back just above the heel will give it a really nice fit.

I look forward to seeing how the shawl turns out.

T-Mom said...

Oh, I like those Mermaid socks! I like the ribbing in the back--that's intriguing.

I like that blue yarn. So now what are you going to do with it?

Noemi said...

Well...
I really like the colour of your "ugly" yarn. That blue is beautiful, and the little dots of pink or red that are left in it are interesting!
So... If you really don't want it, I think you will find many people willing to knit it and love it!

Violiknit said...

I like the indigo incarnation of that yarn :) Is it feltable, I wonder?
Those socks are so cool! That heel is great!