Socks, loom and electric wheel

Well my socks went forward and then back again. I made this whole pair in the wrong gauge. I knew it was wrong but persisted. And I screwed up the tops. Oh, and the color - I got it for Steelers colors but there was green. It was too much.


Now, it is ripped and overdyed with some old koolaid I wanted to clear out of my dye cabinet. Nice and mottled, as I hoped. I like them now and am ready to reknit.

Lornas's laces Bee Stripe before and after.



I still have the same damn project on the loom, but I am not hating it yet. I made a huge miscalculation when I put on the warp. I used a different method of winding an screwed up so the warp was 4 times longer than I wanted. You think I would have noticed, right? But I was so thrilled to get the (new to me) loom setup that I just slapped that puppy on. So I am weaving and weaving and weaving. It will be very long and narrow.


Lastly, since someone asked me about it, I thought I might show one of my home made electric wheels. I have it set in bobbin winder mode right now, but I can just pop out the stick and pop in the flier. I have a folded loom behind it, and a yarn counter on the table in this rather poor photo, but you can get the gist. I built it on a really thick and heavy spiral staircase step of solid oak that a woodworker in my old neighborhood was discarding. My luck to find it as the solidity helps stability. Anyway, it has always worked so well that I never really prettied it up. It has been used very often since about 1993, I think. It lives in the corner next to my loom and I can change it for plying or spinning pretty fast, but I built another electric wheel for plying exclusively and so this is now one of my winders. Foot pedal. Reverse by twisting the drive band (on a drawer pull). In line with both swift, ball winder and cone holder.

Sock brat

I admit it, I am a spoiled sock brat. As a spinner, if I want a luxury sock, I can just build it. Jacob combed with yearling mohair? No problem. Angora, silk, merino: easy. And we must not forget the lovely Romney/baby alpaca. But you know what these fine blends all have in common? They all get handwashed. Well, it is time for a change.

For my birthday, I promised myself 7 pairs of socks that I can toss right in the washer. Simple commercial yarn FROM MY STASH that are everyday handmade. And while I still use my fancy handspun joyful socks, at least I get a day off occasionally from handwashing them.

It has been fun. I discovered Kroy yarn - gee why didn't you tell me about that? And I am using up some dubious choices I made in the past. Like the bumble bee yarn that was to support the Steelers, only to find it contained green - the wrong color. Still the socks will be better than commercial white ones that never fit very well.

I have finished 3 pairs and have two more single socks done. I suspect I will go over my 7 sock goal too, and before a month has passed. Then I will have cleaned up my yarn storage area a bit, turned it into east care garments and can get back to some fancier spinning and knitting and spoiling.

Sock one is Kroy Cyan Stripes done at 64 stitches on 2.75 knitpicks wooden DPs.

Sock two may be some old Magic stripe at 72 sts on size 1 metal needles.

Sock three is interesting. It was from a massive cone of carpet yarn I bought on ebay for felting - kinda feels like a cross between Romney and Shetland, very pleasant. However this stuff won't felt. I am quite sure it is pure wool. I had intended to use it for some class I was teaching. Now, I toss a skein in every time I dye. The yarn has the most pleasing feel on the foot, which is good since there's about 10 lbs left. Anyway, 64 sts on 2.75 metal unknown needles. Ribbed.

Silver and speed

I met this amazing jewelry artist while at the silver supply place today. Living in Albuquerque means that I am surrounded by artists and you become kinda numb to the whole scene after a while. So when I tell you that this artist has a unique look, it means he really stands out in a crowd of artists. He has both a website and Etsy shop which I strongly recommend, especially for those looking to burn through some holiday money. (His photo with permission)

Meanwhile, I have been catching up on some birthday knitting. I wanted a shawl, a wimple and 7 socks. It is the time of year when I toss out the old socks that can’t be mended anymore and need some quickie socks to fill in. I also want to clean up my stash of self patterning sock yarn since I don’t really use it as much these days. I am happy to blast through it with just plain old knit socks that can be tossed into the washer and dryer and used every week. When those are done, I get to go onto some fancier knitting.

But you know what? That stupid plain knitting in the round without thinking is bringing back my speed. It is like finger exercises when you were learning to touch type. Slow, boring, mindless and yet a skill is perfected. So I will get 7 pairs of usable socks and speed, baby, speed.

Birthday knitting and dye question

This year I am giving myself a birthday gift. A Pie Are Square shawl from Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmermann. And since I am Always Cold, I am doing it in Moss Heather Alpaca Cloud from Knitpicks. And for that extra luxury and warmth, I am double stranding it. Even though my birthday is only weeks away, I will be knitting it for a long time and in my favorite color. Just the joy of that soft yarn running through my hands for some time to come is a great gift indeed. I feel so spoiled.

In addition, since there are always multiple projects going on here, we have some Steeler socks for a little extra support for the Black and Gold. I am woefully low in Steeler footwear, but alas, these are for fiberguy. Two mosaics with some strange bits between in a handspun sockweight superwash Merino from the Black Lamb. Very thick. My own Steeler socks come next and I am spinning the gold right now.

My current socks are green and just noodling around with a travelling rib. We dyed this last spring.

And last, for all you dyers out there, a conundrum. I have this color, which I don’t like.

It is DK weight, cabled wool yarn. I would love to hear from anyone, or everyone, about how to overdye this. I mean, what color to use. I know I can go navy, or black. But any other colors you suggest could really help me. I have a couple of pounds of it for a sweater and I just don’t think I can live through the experience in a color I hate, even with a yarn I love. I favor greens but this has a serious teal going on. Anyone ever overdye this color before? As it is winter and I dye outside, I really don’t want to be out there freezing doing dye sampling, so I am trying to save some steps and ask for help. For once.

Is Pattern just a Tool?

Is pattern just a tool, a delivery system tool? A tool to deliver color.

For me, it is the colors in Fair Isle sweaters that ring my bell. When I first noticed them, just like many, it was the eye-opening Starmore. I knew I was in trouble as I crossed the threshold [more ways than one] at the Tomato Factory in Lambertville, NJ. While selecting different colors for a pattern and I got the first three easy. Then I was up to 6 with no problem. But when I was up to my 19th color, I was a little flummoxed. Or do I mean entranced? The blends, oh, those blends….

So here I am, stuck in the back yard on my carder. I am fighting those raindrops over the last few days and I am trying to finish the orange blend. For the last set, I am hoping I have enough left over for an Alpaca Legs mix. I have some light cadmium red that would go great. Looks like matching socks to me.


Something about this mix is just taking forever to spin. It is so light. I spin and spin and spin and only have 3 bobbins. Plying takes a long time too. I get a huge bobbin of 3 ply sport – fingering weight yarn. All excited I weight several batches. How can all that yarn weigh just 5 oz? The merino is very light and spongy but tightly plied. Now I will have to pull out my yardage counter and see just how big this is.


Gee, the merino has been fun, even if it is a sinkhole of time. Gotta be just me, I think. Logy with the heat and humidity? Playing with 4-way blends reminds me of the nights when I used to sit down with some Jamieson & Smith heathers and try to figure the percentage by taking apart a 3 in piece of yarn. All could be lost with a quick pass of a cat’s tail. I was mesmerized by the colors and just wanted to get a blend that was similar. I hoped for the relative percentage and base colors. I didn’t chart them all, but I do have about 20 of them. Sometimes, in carding the leftover superwash, I unwittingly match a color on my color card that I have admired. I would have to dig in the garage to come up with my list of all of them now, but I do have a couple that I use regularly. Do you all have a favorite Shetland color blend? I mean can you pick one, just one on the charts?

Mind you, all this work, this hair-brained scheme, was due to my love of the yarn. So when I try to make a blend like it now, it is as an homage more than an exact copy. Kind of like listening to a song you used to listen to in your youth. A remembrance, a quote to a past joy. I love making my own blends too. You are looking at one now.

Which brings us right back to pattern as a delivery tool for color. Pattern soothes our eyes and brain. Fine pattern, like the dots on your TV can deliver data, images, movement. But on sweater scale, is pattern a delivery system for the joyful Shetland colors. Wasn’t your enchantment of Fair Isle sweaters due to the soft and gentle blending of a bazillion shades so close you have to really search for the transition? Would you like the sweaters as much if they were bright primary colors? Or rich and complex blends of two, three, four, five, maybe more colors.

So many places for your eyes to rest.

Get some colors at Elemental Affects.

Wagons Ho!

Like many blogophiles I have hopped upon the bandwagon for my projects recently.

It started small. Dear Yarn Harlot’s obsessive love of the Tulip Baby Sweater started it. It wasn’t the first post, but the one in which she was uneasy about trading away her last girly kit that did it. I too, had to have one and was so pleased I did. Fast, wonderful yarn, and I want to do it again.

Then came the Heartbeat Sweater Kit with Yarn Place’s Vivace Bamboo yarn. Beyond yummy, this just pleases the eye and hands so much during knitting that I have to be careful or I will end up with a huge size, distracted by the fun of the yarn.

And more Jaywalker Socks.

But the newest sock jumps on three, well four bandwagons all in one. First, the yarn is the amazing Panda Wool and I admit that I want to go out and buy binloads of this stuff. It slips through the fingers with such sensual pleasure that it should be done behind closed doors. I was a little intimidated by making socks at such a fine gauge as I usually prefer thick ones. But this project is flying along and makes a soft and supple fabric. Inspiration came from Smoking Hot needles Lacy Zig Zag socks. She didn’t give full directions but gave a lot of hints; however I didn’t have the pattern calendar she referred to in her post. I rooted through Barbara Walker and came up with the very close Herringbone Lace. Oh, and they are toe-up using two more bandwagon links. Judy’s magic cast on (love it, love it, LOVE IT and have used it so much that I have a stack of 20 toes sitting on my knitting table). And Maia’s Toe-up Gusseted Heel Tutorial, unusual and so far, appears to be working. I admit here that being struck with something new that I was dubious, but found, as usual, that I was wrong. This is quite a good idea.

Anybody want the recipe for these baby’s when done?

I wish I could say that was all, but with 4 sweaters and about 20 socks going right now, it is enough. In spinning I have become obsessed with The Black Lamb’s superwash merino. Man, this is just so nice (and inexpensive). I have been blending it to mix colors and to mix fibers. Pink Alpaca legs and black superwash are very nice. I thought I wouldn’t like the texture, but it is spongy and superb. She runs actions at quite a good price and I just can’t recommend this fiber highly enough. Over 20 lbs live here with me and I am not sure it is enough yet. I may need more colors…

Visitor and Promises

First our visitor. Anyone know what kind this is? Look at that fat body.

And the promises:

Promise of chili peppers

Promise of carnations and pinks

Promise of my favorite yellow roses

And in the back yarn, promises of bugs to fix. Quite a collection, isn't it? Green & red aphids, white fly, baby aphids and some other critter.

promises of sachets with jasmine(?) and lavender

Promises of cardinal climbers and so many hummingbirds that I won't be able to stand the noise

Promises of pens to come

Promises of socks

Promises of lace, corralled on a dvd spindle to control the silk

Got dye?

I hate color.


Especially sock yarn.


It was a day of dyeing using other than my normal methods. First the finicky self patterning yarn. I found a yarn I liked and attached it to my warping board, wound off way too much yarn and set it up. Most people would be a bit more fussy at this stage, but I loosely piled, applied, squished and wrapped. Then steamed. I have not wound it off yet. Dye ended up almost perfectly aligned with my markers - isn't it amazing with my loose technique?


And I tried something I really don't recommend in any way from an old dye book. This was to sprinkle dye powder on wet fleece and massage it in. This is dangerous and I was fully protected. The results were pretty splendid though.