What Have I Been Doing?

Fine. I'll come clean.

The reason I've been absent lately is because I've been busy launching a new venture and I wasn't sure I could really do this. I didn't want to talk about it until I knew for sure.

Turns out, I can, and I did.

May I introduce you to YARNDEAVORS.

That's right. I'm selling yarn. Hand-painted, hand-dyed sock yarn. One night in January, I just suddenly got the urge to dye. Colorway names and color schemes were flying through my brain faster than I could write them down. Ironically, very few match the colors that have actually been dyed. Oh well, saved for later.

So I did a little research... bought various skeins of yarn to try out, bought the dye, spent endless hours perusing the aisles of Big L*ts, the D*llar Tree and other discount outlets for supplies, then cleared off space in the kitchen and got going.

This is batch number one.

The dyeing didn't take nearly as long as designing the logo, the website, and wrassling Zen Cart for dominance (and I still haven't gotten the PayPal thing worked out yet).

This is all because I fell in love with surface design back in college, then took a self-striping and sock yarn dyeing class at Fiberworks a couple years ago. Yes, this idea has been marinating in my brain longer than a dye vat needs to exhaust.

I'm not sure if what I have to offer is completely unique or not. All I know is I have a sock fetish, I love dyeing fibers, and I think I have an unusual eye for color and blending them together. It's totally intuitive and artistic. I tried being scientific about it but that doesn't work for me (though I've been taking pretty good notes so the colorway concepts will, for the most part, be repeatable).

I have a funny story. Sometimes the solution is so obvious it's silly. All the books recommend if you're going to use acid dyes (I use Lanaset/Sabraset from ProChem), your dye pots MUST be stainless (or enamel) because aluminum leeches dye. Well, I searched high and low for inexpensive stainless canning pots to no avail. They are pricey! I had in mind one of those old wash tubs like Grandma used to have:



But I couldn't find any in stores and being the instant gratification type, I needed it NOW—I couldn't wait and hope to win a dozen eBay auctions or to hit the garage sales. I wracked my brain... stainless... flat bottomed... wide... cheap... holds about 10 to 16 quarts of liquid...

Then it hit me.

Livestock pans.

Well, TSC only had hog pans, or so they thought. The guy didn't think what he had would work. I almost gave up. And then I remembered, there are some pretty big dogs. A little online research—AHA! How about a DOG DISH?

I headed over to TSC, and lo and behold, I found a 10-quart size. PERFECT. And only $11. Quite a difference from the $50+ they want for stainless cookware at Big Box Store. (As an aside, Big L*ts is now carrying their store brand of 16- and 20-quart stock pots with lids, on the cheap—I own two now.) It's exactly the right size for immersion dyeing on the stove.

Everything I've dyed so far is up for grabs, except for one skein I can't part with. Yes, I know I can make more! But this one's special...





I don't know what it is about this one that makes my heart skip a beat, but it does, so... I'm keeping it for myself. I'll love it, and pet it, and call it Bluegrass.

So that's what I've been doing, among other things—coloring yarn and entertaining the cats' noses with the divine scent of pickled sheep. Head on over, visit the shop, and let me know if there is anything you like. I'll do custom colorways, too, if you ask.

I think I'll bring the herd of yarn in for Show N Tell at InsanKnitty this week if there are any left. ;-) Now, if I can just learn how to wind the hanks neatly...

Labels: dyeing, stash enhancement, yarndeavors

posted by Jeanne @ 12:36 AM 4 comments

Knit From My WHAT? (A Novel)

My stash?

Um...

That Knit From Your Stash 2007 thingie?

Not working for me.

I set up my rules. I thought I'd be safe. I didn't count on a little thing called Sockaholism. Apparently, I need more than just a 12-step program and regular meetings. I need a goldurned Intervention.

My rules:

• sock yarn is exempt
• gift yarn is exempt if there's nothing in my stash already that'll work
• one Get Out Of Jail Free card
• yarn for dyeing experiments is exempt
• all UFOs must become FOs before COing a NUFO of a similar nature

My problem:

• I'm only knitting SOCKS. Sock after sock after sock after sock after sock.
• OK there are TWO hats (TKGA L1 project and a chemo cap for Yarn Haven).
  
• My stash = wool, alpaca, mohair, silk, acrylic and blends of all; my color range = purple, red, emerald, teal blue, black, hot pink. My gift recipients = allergic, itchy, cotton-and-acrylic-lovin' freaks who like yellow, orange, peach, acid green and other colors that on my body cause perfect strangers to hand me a bucket and run.
• I used my GOOJF Card in March, then I gone and dun it again two weeks later. True, the second slip up was mostly books and spinning fiber, but it was a hefty load of cabbage.
• Only six skeins (so far) for dyeing: two for the workshop, three cheapo Patons Classic Merino Wool and today, one skein that literally had my name on it:
  
  
• There are so many UFOs floating around here it looks like Roswell in 1947. Does that stop me from casting on again? Uh, no. No, it doesn't.
  

Then I went to Threadbear today.

Regrettably the purpose of my mission was NOT to attend Annie Modesitt's workshop though I would have liked to have participated. It was a bizarre coincidence that we were at the same place at the same time. I saw Annie, we made eye contact, but didn't officially meet as she was in the middle of her class and I was shopping. But I was surprised that she was much taller than I am (I'm 5' 8"). Yes, I should have thought to snap her photo with my cell phone, but I'm so new to this Knitting Celebrity Thing that I'm not yet in the cellpix mindset.

No, my mission was more mundane. My dear friend B's birthday is tomorrow. She's very much into stained glass, and Lansing hosts a rather large stained glass outlet. When I heard she was planning to trek up there, I mentioned the yarn store. ROAD TRIP!

I arose at 6:30 AM. Yes. The exact time I arrived home two weeks ago from the band meeting. B and I hit the road by 7:30. Had breakfast at a sit-down restaurant along the way. Did the grand tour of Michigan's rest areas (due to the coffee consumption). Visited the glass shop. She strangled her credit card and bought some glass and a kit. I was unaware of just how beautiful sheets of colored glass can be (almost as luscious as yarn). I planned out the cabinet inserts for my future dream kitchen, my bathroom, my foyer... uh... right.

Reality. Sorry. I'm back now.

On to Threadbear. Thank you, Sarah, for that tip about the Quilt Shop. Without it, we'd have passed Threadbear for sure. First impressions: It's huge. It's bright. It's stuffed with yarn. I grabbed a basket and started with the dyeables. Then I inquired as to the location of the sock yarn. When the saleslady (whose name I've misplaced) directed me to aisle after aisle of sock... *sigh* yarn.... I actually felt woozy.

Guess what came home with me?

SOCK YARN. That's it. Juuuuuuust sock yarn.

Well, OK, mostly sock yarn. There were a couple of skeins for non-sock gifts as well.

Here's the scary part. I didn't just go grab random skeins from the shelves in wild abandon. No. I went with a VERY. SPECIFIC. LIST. The night before, I sat up late into the night and worked up a Sock Notes spreadsheet in Excel—after first working up a spreadsheet for my Ravelry Sock Knitter's Anonymous Group KAL (SKA) projects for the year:






I intended to stick to said list. I wanted:

• 2 skeins dark and 1 skein light of Lorna's Shepherd Sock for Scala
• the 5 skeins of Dale of Norway TIUR required for the Caspian Sea Socks (free download when you joing Knitting Daily) planned for SKA Project #2 (Toe-Ups)
• the 4 skeins of TIUR necessary for the Winter Garden Socks from Betsy McCarthy's book Knit Socks!) planned for SKA Project #3 (Nancy Bush pattern)
• some sock yarn to dye
• Lanaset Dyes (if available)
• size 0, 1.5, and 2.5 circulars (16"-24" for socks, natch)
• (OPTIONAL) one skein each of the required yarn for Cookie A.'s Pomatomus and Red Herring, Sockbug's Crooked Cable, and Domesticat's Zephyr (all socks)
• to look at the swatches for Kauni that had just come in (not doing the Rainbow colorway that everybody and their sister is doing—yes, the one upon which the Harlot has been slaving away)

What I acquired (in less than an hour):

• Yarn for Scala except there wasn't any solid Lorna's—I'm substituting either Drop's Alpaca or Lanett (six skeins total, two different color combos)
  
• the FOUR skeins of Dale of Norway Daletta* (four because I'm an idiot and just realized I forgot to get the second skein of Rose—gaaahhhh! and because Tiur is being discontinued and the colors I wanted weren't available in Tiur) for the Caspian Sea Socks
  
• the THREE skeins of Dale of Norway Tiur with an optional contrast color (because I couldn't decide between natural/rose/green or natural/rose/grey so I got green AND grey AND because I'm an idiot and again failed to realize I needed TWO skeins of green, not one) for the Winter Garden Socks
• some sock yarn to dye (Kraemer "Jeannie", with my name on it)
  
• no dyes (no dice!)
  
• no needles because I still can't justify Addi's
  
• (OPTIONAL) one skein each of Twisted "Arial" in Regiment and Sleeping Dragon Handpainted Sock Yarn in Roses & Chocolate intended for two of the four extra socks
• 2 skeins of mohair for a neckwarmer for B (she picked it out)
• one skein of Schaefer "Lola" for B—OMG! The Barry Manilow reference just hit me which is so ironic because B is the BIGGEST Manilow fan in the world ("her name was Lola, she was a showgirl...")—for a pair of toe-ups because she picked up a skein featuring a colorway that perfectly coordinated with the shirt she was wearing and I had to go and say "Oh, you need a pair of matching SOCKS, don't you?"
• the Summer Spin-Off (for the article "Dye your own self-striping yarn!") which for some reason I'm beginning to think I might have already purchased (for the very same article)
• a good idea about the Kauni swatches. For a more subdued but equally-effective Kauni, I'm planning to get the two colorways in the brown/gold/wheat tones—one is light, the other dark. It's special order so I can sit on that for awhile
  

*Actually that's 3 skeins Daletta and one skein Heilos that I'm trading in for the same color in Daletta because Heilos is scratchy compared to Daletta

Did I mention that I actually PUT BACK one skein each of Cherry Tree Hill, Colinette Jitterbug, Trekking XXL, another color of Tiur, and something else I've now forgotten?

Did I mention that I somehow I forgot to grab the second skeins of two colors I need for two of the patterns?

Did I mention the shop is two and a half hours away?

Did I mention that occasionally I have a synapse misfire that causes me to forget little details like second skeins of discontinued yarn that may never mate with their own dye lot again?

Following the yarnage, we scavenged for food but we nearly didn't get any. The Middle Eastern place we'd mapquested isn't open on weekends. We chose to drive down big roads that logically should have provided all manner of sustenance, but were riddled with questionable housing and a QD convenience store (Hot Coffee! Fresh Donuts!) on every corner. We were nearly to the highway entrance when we spotted a sign for Sahara's (no webpage). We were in the mood for Indian, but in a pinch, Lebanese will do. After hummus, pita, mango smoothies, samosas, chicken soup for B and green bean stew on rice for me, we hit the road again.

Since then, I've been battling with Flickr to acknowledge my coughing up the dough for a Pro account so I can have more than three measly sets because Flickr is the preferred photo host of Ravelrers everywhere (so I can move all my photos from PhotoBucket and cancel that account? Oy, the blog nightmare that will be). Flickr gladly took my money but has yet to change over my account. When it does, I'll be able to post the photos of yarn that I actually took this time! (Because I only want to upload them to ONE photo host because of the Ravelry thing.)

Oh.

You wanted a total?

Gee. I thought I could squeak by without divulging.

I paid cash. I "found" the emergency cash stash I'd forgotten I'd stashed away. Don't worry, I saved some of it. I only spent $192 dollars.

This is my official resignation from KFYS 2007. I give up. I tried all summer but that "sock yarn doesn't count" clause did me in.

Next year, I'm hosting Knit From Your SOCK Stash 2008.

Any takers?

---

Labels: dyeing, knit from your stash 2007, ravelry, stash enhancement, yarn diet

posted by Jeanne @ 9:49 PM 5 comments

I Won the Yarn Wars

It took two days of detangling, but I WON.

These are my mini-cakes of self-patterning sock yarn that I dyed in the workshop two weekends ago. The color motif is turquoise with white flecks to teal green/emerald to chartreuse to violet. This was taken at night; the flash makes the chartreuse look more yellow than it actually is. The base was Gems Pearl (or Opal—what's the dif again?). As always, click if you want a close-up.



And since I'm all photo-happy and the room is as clean as it may ever be, I present you with my beloved corner desk, revived, resuscitated, and reinvigorated:


The view from my desk (this is my creative studio, I guess, because it contains my graphics studio, my loom, my sewing stuff, and is where I'll do most of my designing):


Finally, the Stash Closet:


About the closet. It runs the full length of that wall (basically to the edges of the photo). There are huge tubs hidden behind the walls that the sides of the bookcases are up against. You can just barely see the ones to the left. There is another whole set of them on the right and yes, they all graze the lower shelf.

But there is still a little room for more... muwahahahaaaaa!

Bookcase to the left: all knitting, weaving, sewing, fibers-related books. Bookcase to the right: all designing books (software manuals, How-To's, design concept books).

I love books. I love yarn. I have more books. They are in one case and two towers in another room. I need a library.

Well, tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 29 again for the 15th time.

---

Labels: dyeing, loom, sewing, stash enhancement, workshops

posted by Jeanne @ 10:25 PM 4 comments

Spun Out and Dyed

Today I succumbed. My Ashford Traveller (the old single treadle style) and I went to our local LYS and took a Beginning Spinning workshop.

We started with a top whirl drop spindle then progressed to the wheel. I caught on fairly quickly until we got to the wheel. Treadling single is kind of tricky. It's such a one-sided rhythm that it kept stalling out and broke the flow.

There were some other wheels available in case participants didn't have one of their own, so I was invited to try a Louet S51 with a double treadle.

Ahhhhh. Even rhythm.

It still took time to get the hang of it. I didn't quite have it when the workshop ended. But I did rent the Louet for a few days to work on it and decide whether or not to buy a new wheel.

Then I discovered Ashford offers a double treadle conversion kit for the Traveller. They are built with DTs standard now. I'll get the conversion kit (more cost efficient) and see if that changes things and makes it more user-friendly.

This evening, I dug out some 12-year-old roving that I'd purchased when I got the wheel (yep, only took a dozen years) and sat on the deck with the Louet and practiced. Pretty soon I began to develop a rhythm. I stopped over twisting so much, and the consistency improved. When the skeeters started biting and it was too dark to see, I went in. I'd been out there an hour and a half, in the zone. Very cool.

I don't think I'm ready yet to spin up the handpainted rovings I bought back in March, but I'm really psyched about this.

On Saturday, Fiberworks had a Dye Your Own Sock Yarn workshop. You KNOW I couldn't miss that. We used Lanaset and Kool Aid dyes (yay, I've been wanting to play with Kool Aid). Using roving for practice, we did handpainting, vat dyeing, microwave versus electric skillet (crock pot/stove) versus sunshine, then we did self-patterning YARN on our choice of Gems Pearl fingering or sport (I went with sport). Wayne, the LYS owner and our instructor, came up with a brilliant method of separating the sections out. I won't reveal it here without his permission, but I've never seen it done anywhere else. He should publish the technique.

One of these days when I'm not so lazy, I'll post photos of all my recent endeavors. Until then, Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there.

---

Labels: dyeing, spinning, workshops

posted by Jeanne @ 10:21 PM 0 comments