Finger painter for knitters

Okay, so I have been notably absent from the blogosphere. I could give all kinds of reasons why, but I won't. The truth is that I just haven't really felt like blogging. I haven't had the blogging mojo. Well, today I did something that made me happy dance and made me want to blog. In other words, it was "blog worthy" so here I am writing about it.

Shortly before leaving Dublin, I learned how to hand paint yarn. I really enjoyed the creative process and wanted to do more. However, I was moving and haven't had the space or really the time since then. When we bought our house in June, it has a full basement with a double utility sink. There is a work bench and plenty of room for a work table and microwave. For Christmas, I asked for some yarn dyes and got them. Well, today one of my new knitting friends came over and we had a bit of a play. It was so much fun to experiment with the four colors of yarn dye I had and not have to worry about the colors not going together because I knew that they all did and that I liked them (they had all been tested when I learned in Dublin). It was also a lot of fun to just play. We also experimented with mixing colors and got some really good, rich colors from this. For the first time in a while, I got to just be creative and have fun. I just was.

Here our our first dyeing attempts.

Marlborough Sound

The 8th day of our honeymoon was rainy and dreary so we decided not to go kayaking as planned (turned out to be a very good decision since it rained really hard at times, it was pissing rain as the Irish would say). Instead, we wandered around Picton, did a little souvenir shopping, and drove around the area.

On our drive up to the wine country, we noticed a sign that said "Alpaca" with an arrow. Below the sign, it indicated that there was "fibre." Of course we had to stop. So we turned off the main road, drove into what seemed like someone's driveway, some some cute alpacas, and then noticed a shed like building that appeared to be the shop. There was no one there. The door was open but John wouldn't let me go in and wander around (I think he was concerned that I could get into mischief in an unattended yarn shop). Instead, we walked up to the house nearby and a guy answered the door. He indicated that he would come down to the shop soon. We then happily (well, I was happy) looked at the alpaca yarn and fibre and bought enough for me to make myself a sweater, some undyed for me to play with and a something for Aileen (she hasn't gotten it yet though). All of the wool was undyed which I quite like. So, some day, I will hand dye the white alpaca and have fun making myself a sweater with the brown. I have a few ideas for a pattern and think it will be a self-design (after I finish the one I started this spring).

After buying lots of alpaca yarn, we then continued on our journey to wineries. Since it was about an hour before the guide books said most of the wineries closed, we decided to try one of the major ones. We got there about 10 minutes before we thought it closed. There was one car in the parking lot and 2 customers in the shop. We walked in and were told that the store was supposed to be closed but since there was a private tour later in the evening, we could still shop. The person working in the shop also offered free tastings and chatted with us. She was from the U.S. and had gone to New Zealand to work for a year and is now studying there so she could stay. She seemed to be having a lot of fun. We certainly had fun tasting the wines and ended up buying three bottles. We intended to bring one of them back for my sister but decided that we didn't want to risk it breaking in the flight so we had to drink it. :) They were all tasty but I think I like my Italian wine better.

Knit in Public

June 14 was World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKIPD). In honor of the day, This is Knit sponsored a photo scavenger hunt and graciously let people from outside of Ireland participate in a separate competition for a smaller prize. So, I got my list of items to photograph as well as the points assigned to each item. I then proceeded to get caught up in life and 3 days before the pictures were due, I decided that I should get in gear and try to take a bunch of pictures of my knitting in public.

On the Friday before WWKIPD, we went to dinner and it happened to be sunset when we were done so I made John take a picture of me knitting at sunset near the parking lot of the mall where we had gone to dinner. I then made him "go for a walk" by the lake where we took a bunch more pictures. After going to the lake, we decided to head to the local coffee shop (another of the challenges) and I hit the photo jackpot! See, one of the items was to take a picture in a coffee shop. Other items on the list included taking a picture with a customer at the coffee shop and taking a picture with coffee shop employees. So, we were sitting having our drinks (I had tea, John got a milkshake) and in walk this group of teenagers. I was quite happy that they seemed like a fun bunch because taking pictures with teenagers was involved in 3 of the challenges! So, I approached the group and explained my mission and they happily let me take their pictures. When I also explained it to the staff, they told me that they were also teenagers!

On World Wide Knit in Public Day, I ended up not going to the event here but instead had to take public transport down to a salon that I had gotten some face soap at to exchange it. I then attempted to make my way to Lorna's Laces to try to take a photograph there. I took the train to the exit Google told me to take and then walked to where their website listed as their address. It was a house! I was disappointed because I wanted to get bonus points of having a picture with my knitting at a yarn dyeing company but now I know that they do not do tours for the public and their mailing address is someone's house.

Anyway, this week I got an email telling me that I won the international part of the scavenger hunt so soon I will get some lovely hand dyed yarn from the Dublin Dye Company! These are some of my favorite shots for the contest. And if the staff member from the coffee shop finds this post and responds, yes I will make you a hat.

Goodbyes

During May, I had a couple leaving Dos and "goodbyes." It was very hard to say goodbye to everyone, partly because I just don't do goodbye. They are too sad! Anyway, Aileen decided that we should have a bit of a party at a Knit Night on her birthday so we had a bit of a party, knitting style. :) It was a lot of fun and pictures can be found on Yvvone's blog as well.


And I got some pressies. :) Aileen and Laura got me some lovely Newbridge Silver earrings and pendant. I have looked at this set many times and never taken the plunge so I'm quite happy with them. They are surprisingly hard to take pictures of. :( I also got a beautiful skein of handpainted yarn from Elana and Lisa. They also gave me some hand made stitch markers, all purple of course. Aileen also gave me some pretty sock yarn. Yeah, small things that are easy to pack and more yarn! :) Not that I "need" more yarn.

The Friday before I left, I also had a work do. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then the Porterhouse (of course) for drinks. It was great fun. They also gave me a very generous pressie of some Waterford Crystal martini glasses (purple of course) that I have loved since I first saw them three years ago and a Galway Crystal bowl. They are getting shipped so I haven't actually gotten them yet...

**There will be pictures but they are on John's camera and he is still in Ireland!

Dyeing workshop

During the May Bank Holiday weekend, I took a yarn dyeing workshop. Three of us took the "class" and Elana and Lisa taught it. I was disappointed with myself for forgetting my camera. I'm really not a "good" blogger. :) Anyway, we had lots of fun and got to play around with color and basically paint the yarn. After painting it, it gets cooked in the microwave, cools, you rinse it and then let it dry. It is now wound and just waiting for the right projects.

In order to get used the process, we first did a little practice skeins. I'm glad that we did because I decided that I liked the colors the others were using better and of course switched to purple. :) The maroon was first.

We then got to dye our own skein of sock yarn! I of course caved into my love of purple (I had planned on dyeing it for John and therefore not purple) and am thrilled with the results. I have decided that it is too pretty for socks and am going to make something lacy out of it. It will be my first "proper" lace from my first hand dyed yarn. :)



Yvonne's hand dyed can be found on her blog. After we finished dyeing our yarn, there was some left over so Lisa and Elana decided to have a bit of a play. They used some left over dye and some Kool-Aid and made a purplicious skein. Apparently they were both thinking of the same purpose of the yarn. I found out this purpose on a little going away do that the girls gave me. :)




And yes, as usual, the kitties wanted to be in on the photo shoot!

LYS

Since I have started knitting, I have had a LYS, or Local Yarn Shop. Ever since I signed up for my first knitting class, I knew that they were nice, friendly ladies. See, I chatted with them for at least half an hour when all I meant to do was give them money for the class! Throughout the last bit over a year, I have gotten to know them a bit better and become a "good" customer. :)

See, I buy the majority of my wool/yarn from them (and often feel guilty if I don't) and have taken a lot of classes from them, as well as going to knitting night on Thursdays. They have encouraged me to do some of my own designing and wowed over every finished object, and some works in progress that I have brought in. Last night, I wasn't able to go to Knit Night and I got a text from Lisa asking how much yarn I needed for the shawls that I am making for my bridesmaids. I emailed her back this morning and then spoke to her. The yarn they had coming in (and I planned to snatch all of) is on backorder until Sept!!! That just won't do. So, unknown to me, they called a bunch of other Irish shops to see if any of them carried the yarn and had some in stock. They found one company that did and had that information for me by the time I called them back this afternoon! They didn't want me to have a crisis! That just amazes me.

After I got home from work this evening, I called around to some shops back at home since I'll be moving back there later this month. The first shop I called didn't have the yarn but could order it. When I explained that it was back ordered here in Ireland, one of the women took my details and said that she would put my request out on another site and to have a distributor contact me directly! The second shop I called asked me about the yarn and then said she didn't have it. She wasn't helpful (wasn't helpful in person the one time I have been there either). The third shop (sadly websiteless) I called had the yarn I needed and even the amount I needed! After I explained that I was calling from another country, I asked if the woman would mail the yarn to a local address for me. She will!

With the yarn crisis averted, I rang my LYS back and told them how much I had, that I did need their remaining stock and that I was successful in finding yarn at home. The process just amazed me at how much customer service a LYS can give. In many ways your LYS is like a hairdresser. Once you find a good one, you are intensely loyal and feel like you are "cheating" if you go somewhere else, even if they don't have the item you want. You develop a relationship with them. They are not just a shop owner or a shop, they become a part of your life...

Knit Night

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I go to knitting groups. The Wednesday group is really just three of us sitting in a pub having a chat and knitting. It is quite fun and has helped me feel like I belong somewhere!

Last Thursday, I needed to make a baby hat for a mate's baby. I knew that I could get a baby hat done in one evening so I bought the yarn that night (great thing about having knit nights in a yarn shop), wound it, and started knitting. The ladies commented on how quickly the hat was knitting up and helped me problem solve when I made a mistake with the hat. Yvonne then crocheted a chain for me to use instead of having to knit one or try to find some ribbon to use. On the way home, I continued to knit on the train and then finished up the hat when I got home.

Yesterday, I was out with Aileen and Laura and working on a friend's hat and my dad's socks. At one point, Aileen reached over for Laura's knitting and just started working on it! Aileen had run out of knitting and Laura was eating so she just worked on it. I then jokingly asked if Aileen wanted to do the heel of my dad's sock since it appeared to not be working out and she did! I went to the bathroom and she ripped out the mistakes and within what felt like 5 minutes, she had the heel turned and now I just need to pick up the stitches and work on the foot!

Knitting update

I haven't posted much knitting lately even though I have been doing a lot of it. Right now, I have a lot projects on my sticks. I am working on a shawl/wrap for the wedding, a pair of socks for my dad, a blanket for a baby, and a hat for a friend. I also took a class at This is Knit to learn a new way of knitting sweaters and have a "pattern" to make myself a sweater but it has to wait!

So far this year, I have made:

• one baby blanket
• three baby hats
• one adult hat
• one children's hat
• finished one of my dad's socks (and am about 1/3 way done with the second)
• a head warmer thing for myself

Wow, that's a lot of knitting and probably explains why the wedding project is only 1/3 of the way done!

Happy Birthday

Back in October, Redbird Knits offered free shipping internationally. Never one to turn down free shipping, I had a look on their website and found this scrumptious orange llama yarn from Peru. One I saw a picture of the yarn, I immediately thought of my future mother-in-law. I ordered enough to make a scarf for her and then put it aside. OK, every now and then I took it out to pet it. It was really soft!

Since my future mother-in-law's birthday is in the beginning of January, I had a few days after Christmas to work on the scarf without having to mail it. I decided to make it the faster way of knitting it lengthwise in garter stitch. I cast on 250 stitches on needles 2 sizes larger than the yarn called for and away I went. I knit in the car on the way to John's mom's house. I knit at her house. When his mom saw me working on the scarf, she commented on the color and that it is her favorite color to wear! I was quite happy. A lot of people asked me who it was for and I did tell a couple. The others, I just said it was for someone I know.

Anyway, I just happily knit away on the scarf and felt the fabric every now and then. I was quite impressed with how "squishy" it was, how warm it felt, and how nice it looked with the bigger needles. The day before we going to leave John's mom's house, I started the last ball of yarn. By the evening, I was almost done with the last ball. Midway through what I decided to be my last row, I looked down at the ball of yarn and noticed that it was quite small. I looked at where I was in the row. I looked at the ball of yarn. I got a measuring tape. I counted my gauge and figured out long the scarf should be. I then measured my yarn. By my rough measurements, I had enough.

After finishing the row, I got larger needles and started to cast off. I knit two stitches together every now and then, just to be safe and take less yarn. Then I measured again. I started knitting two stitches together more often. The edge wasn't quite as stretchy but then I might have enough. The yarn was disappearing. I looked at the tails from where I joined yarn. I trimmed one of them since it was quite long. I decided to see if the yarn would felt to itself. Yep, it did. This would have been good try earlier because then I wouldn't have had to weave in any ends (but wouldn't have had yarn to spare). I then knit it this bit of yarn. Still not enough. I tied a couple knots in another spot that I joined yarn and trimmed it to add to the cast off. I also started knitting two stitches together each stitch. I ended up trimming all the other ends to add to the cast off row. I then had a tiny bit to weave in. :)

Anyway, I think that the end product turned out well and my future mother-in-law seems very happy with it. Even though one end pulls in a bit, I think it still drapes well overall and should be quite warm. (Look carefully at the artwork that the scarf is hanging on, it is my future-mother-in-law's work)

Christmas knitting

This summer, I decided to make a couple Christmas presents for some family members. I made scarves for my sister-in-law and her daughter. I also made my niece K a hat and scarf set to go with the poncho that I made for her this spring for her birthday.

In October, I made a very energetic list of things I wanted to knit for my friends and family. In November, I started seriously knitting. And I knit and knit and knits until Christmas and even a bit after. I think I managed to get about half of my original goal done. All in all, I think I did pretty well since the list was quite unrealistic.

In October I made two scarves I think (only took pictures of the red and white one). In November, I knit my niece a small blanket. In December, I finished three hats (only took a picture of one since I gave them away a day or two after finishing them), a pair of socks for John, started a pair of socks for my dad, made a scarf (it will get a post of it's own since it isn't Christmas knitting), and a pair of fingerless gloves. On the plane ride back to Dublin, I started a new scarf for a friend of mine. I think I'll have the scarf done either this weekend or early next week. Then I need to finish the socks for my dad, a pair of socks for John's niece, and I can get started on new projects for myself. John got me some very pretty yarn the day after Christmas, and I'm hoping to make a cardigan out of it. However, I'm not sure if we got enough yarn while we were home so I had my sister go back to the yarn shop and get more. After I get the yarn from her, I should definitely have enough for a sweater.