the weekend in pictures

First of all, here's the yarn that was such an utter misery to dye last week, that I said it better come out pretty or it was in trouble.


In case you were worried, it's not in trouble. :)

I had a bit of a crazy weekend--after a month and a half of dead silence, suddenly realtors were crawling out of the woodwork wanting to show my house this weekend. So weird, but I'll take it. The phone rang off the hook, people made appointments, cancelled them, made new ones, and it was all general madness. As a result, I found myself fleeing the house quite a lot (so that buyers would feel comfortable to open closet doors and hopefully start feeling like the house was their own). I've been really tired, and on Saturday, I just wanted someplace to go and sit down, so I decided to go to Little Barn. Honestly, I usually don't like going there because I'm on a mission to accomplish everything on a mile-long to-do list, and I always feel anti-social for not joining the group hanging out there. So this week, I thought "This will be perfect--I'll actually sit down and knit with those folks!" Well, it turned out nobody was there, and I felt really foolish just plopping myself down and knitting by myself in a store, so I looked at the merchandise instead. Duh, I haven't spun anything in weeks, not even my own fabulous roving, which is still sitting around half-spun and waiting to be plied, but I thought I was safe to look at stuff because I had just been there the week before and not seen anything that interested me except the Plymouth Boku that I went there intending to get. But I guess every day we're slightly different people than the day before, and it gives us slightly different tastes.


This is a Bombyx silk cap. I fell in love with the colors but had no earthly idea what to do with a silk cap. But the label said "instructions included"--sold!


This is my first ever batt. The colors are very subtle and may just make a pale muddy brown, but with that purple, I couldn't resist finding out.

Otherwise, it was dye dye dye.


I'm skipping knitting night tonight to keep at it so I can get this order finished and shipped. I'm tired, but I persevere.

more dyeing

I was a bit bummed when I started dyeing this yarn, but it cheered me right up. Just look at it.


Last night's yarn (which I haven't rinsed yet), on the other hand...the dye didn't want to flow right, I had a cold, my back hurt, and I just wanted to blow the place up. That stuff better come out pretty or it's in trouble.

good dyeing

Dark, rich colors, enough light to really see what I'm doing, and this luscious soft yarn... oh, yeah, things are good.


This is my "Love" colorway, which is one of the first few that I thought up but which required persistent efforts to get the purple to come out right. I'm so happy that I've got that figured out.
I'm dying on a pretty ambitious schedule to get my next order ready in time--the best kind of busy! Also, I'm working on some process improvements--it is taking me way too long to dye this yarn, so I'm working on some ideas to get more efficient. It's all very exhilarating. Sometimes it's frustrating not to be able to put in as much time as I'd like--I see a lot of areas where the business would grow immediately if I could just tend it more--but today I just feel great.

disappointing dyeing

I dyed some more of the new yarn base. I totally adore how soft this yarn is, and I've just about got a good balance between acid and salt in the soaking stage so that the dye flows and sets like I want it to.


Unfortunately, I guess I wasn't thinking when I dyed this yarn--it's supposed to be my Fire colorway, but I usually do that so that all the yellow is next to orange, which goes to red, then purple, not in a yellow-orange-red-purple circle like this where the purple is next to the yellow. Also, there are a lot of white spots on almost every skein. This really bums me out--all that time and yarn, and the best I can do with it as is, is put it in an "oops" basket and sell it at a major discount. Feh.
I think the problem is that it was just too darn dark in my studio--I messed up one skein with dark colors, but only one, whereas almost every skein with yellow (way less contrast to the natural color of the yarn) had a lot of flaws. So I bought two shop lights and put 100-watt-equivalent compact fluorescent bulbs in them. What a difference! I hope that will take care of the problem. I'm way behind my production goals as it is--I can't afford to blow a whole night making defective yarn.
Anybody want a bunch of very soft not-quite-right yarn? I can give you a real good deal. :P

I'm in

I went to Little Barn over the weekend. I thought I remembered them having something Noro-like, and sure enough, they did.


It's Plymouth Boku. I know many of the people who make the Noro scarf seek something toward the tame end of their colors, but not me. I'm in the mood for bright, intense color. My only concern with this pairing is that they're too similar and won't be contrasty enough. Oh well, if that happens, I'll just have to pick two different ones and try again. :) Actually, I'm also a bit concerned that the yarn will be too scratchy for a scarf. I plan to wash it in vinegar or hair conditioner (or one after the other); hopefully that will take care of it.
This yarn is hanging out in my kitchen, enticing me. I won't let myself do more than pet it until I finish the darn scarf, but I have had two dreams about it. You can't beat that.

just a little dyeing

No time to write, but here's what I've been working on. That's my new base yarn. It rocks.

goodies

A much-anticipated box of yarn samples came in the mail today.


Glorious goodies, and a full skein of each yarn! Now that's what I call a sample! I feel like a kid: goody goody goody goody gumdrops!
In other news, yesterday's Yarn Harlot post about Noro scarves has me off on a new tangent. "But wait," I know you're saying, "aren't you currently working on a scarf that you're sick to death of?" Yes, you're right. And when the Yarn Harlot talks about how sad it is to follow knitting fads or refuse to knit something because it's a fad, I think it's an order of magnitude sadder to knit the thing because the Yarn Harlot is. Maybe two orders of magnitude. Not that I have anything against the Yarn Harlot, it's just that she's such a phenomenon, anything she does becomes an insta-frenzy faddier-than-fad fad. Those colors sure make me drool, though. Well, no problem: by the time I finish the current scarf, the Harlot and the entire rest of the world will have knit their Noro scarf and left the idea behind long since. When I do my Noro scarf, it will be retro, so I'll be cool after all. Ha ha! Isn't it ironic, don't you think?