Yarn Painting



my four hand-painted skeins.

This past weekend I was lucky to attend a yarn painting workshop given by Sandy Jones of Sandy's Palatte at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI.  What a fantastic afternoon! 

[Mineral Point, an old mining town, is worthy of its own photo shoot.  Many of the original Cornish-built, miners' homes have been restored and there is thriving arts community to round it all out.]

Yarn dying is a dirty, hot business.  And one best not done at home with curious hands about.  For this reason alone I am excited that I was able to get away and try it in a space where I didn't have to worry about anything (except for what colors I wanted to try!)

undyed worsted weight wool

We started with skeins of wool and roving.  Dipped in a bucket of warm water, they are soaked to prepare them to take the dye.  


empty dye jars.
dye will be shelf-stable if not used for up to a few months.

We started mixing dyes (vinegar, dye, and boiling water) in mason jars, and practiced mixing colors on coffee filters.  They bleed nicely and let you guesstimate how two adjoining colors will blend.  Then the fun began.  We painted to our hearts content, completing as many skeins as we wanted.  It was hard to start - the fear that I would create something that would simply turn out brown was high - but once I began I didn't want to stop.  The possibilities are truly endless.


last skein (sock weight) in bright colors.
 what's going to happen with all the white space?

After painting, the skeins are wrapped up in plastic wrap and steamed for about an hour.  Then they are removed from their casing, rinsed (being sure not to agitate, lest you felt them!), and hung to dry.

three of four skeins after steaming and rinsing.

In a mere 3.5 hours I created 4 one-of-a-kind, non-reproducible skeins from which to knit two pairs of socks and two hats. I am so excited to start knitting a project using my custom-painted yarns!!  I can see how custom painting yarns is addictive.  But given the little people in my life it is not something that I will begin doing at home.  I am, however, interested in taking another class and painting more yardage in a particular color blend.  Lucky for me Sandy has said that she's open to hosting one or two day-long dying workshops in the fall and next spring too.

Over the weekend I also bound-off the bottom edge of my Current cardigan!!  Now...on to the sleeves.

Summer Break

morning dew on a recent camping trip

Things are going to be slow around these parts for the next few months.  The kids will be off school shortly which brings with it a shift in activity and focus.  We'll be outside gardening, camping, playing soccer, going to art camp, swimming, exploring, foraging, visiting local farms, hiking, reading in the hammock, and enjoying the sunshine. 

The Current sweater is coming along beautifully - I'm past the yoke and split for the arms.  But there's still a ways to go.  I am also excited to share that I'm taking a yarn painting workshop in late June at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI.  Photos and a post about that adventure is sure to follow.

Until then, enjoy.

WIP's



new local yarns

I recently made two yarn purchases for myself. 

The teal is a locally spun and dyed fingering weight from Blackberry Ridge (photos from my tour of the mill are under the photos link on the left).  It is a wool/silk blend in the most stunning deep teal imaginable.

The green, a gorgeous merino/cashmere/nylon blend from Sun Valley Fibers, is purely a stash acquisition - but a smart one.  I got 1600 yards to be certain I have enough for a cardigan or sweater, once I find the right pattern.

Getting those new yarns spurred me to cast on a project for myself.  I picked out current, by Cecily Glowik MacDonald.  A lovely fitted cardi, with great trim and button details.  In a lightweight wool/silk I trust it will be a good lightweight sweater when paired with a long sleeve t-shirt.




current

My other work-in-progress is the aforementioned Versa.  The tunic is coming along nicely, but I am letting it sit while I really get into my cardigan.  I hope to finish it up by the end of the month.  The yarns for this top are all from the stash.  The blue worsted wool is left over from knitting up the tiny tea leaves for my 4yo last summer.

versa tunic (from the stash)

After finishing up these two projects it might be time to re-visit my stash and figure out what to keep, what to use up, and what to give away.  It has been well over a year since my stash challenge ended and while I feel I have a good handle on my current and recent yarn purchases, I still have a lot of left over yarn that is not being put to use.  And as my tastes and preferences for knitting evolve, I feel myself pulling farther away from projects that would suit the sitting yarns; the ones that I haven't picked up in a couple years.

I recently had a friend give me some fabric 'scraps'.  But let me say that these are not scraps (at least not to my mind), but lovely pieces of left over fabric from her collection.  And I am happy to have them as inspriation for myself and my future sewing.  And this gesture showed me that while it's admirable to use all that you have, sometimes letting it go to another creative person can be even better.  

FO: Cap Sleeve Spring Shirt

Another little-ish knit for my 4 yo. 




















This is the girl's cap sleeved spring shirt, by Shellee Floyd, size 6.  It's knit up in a soft, cuddly alpaca/wool blend  which makes about the cutest spring layer in my girls' wardrobe.  I love the way this fits, wears and looks when layered with a long sleeve tee and pants.  Simple, feminine and bold all-in-one.  It does violate one of my own preferences for kid knits though - it's not machine washable.

An interesting note on construction for this tee is that I started out the yoke with a size 6 needle, but changed to an 8 about about 6 inches, and then to a 10 at about 11 inches.  I like that it created a slight flare without having to figure out increasing stitch counts.  The pattern did not call for this much needle changing, but I am happy with the result.




















The baby liked the soft alpaca yarn too!

I am really excited to start on a(nother) cardigan for myself - but am having a hard time committing to a pattern.  I feel a little overwhelmed by all the knitting pattern goodness out there.  Ravelry can be a huge help, however, and I find myself analyzing photos of individual projects - once there's a pattern that catches my eye - to see if I can find one that looks like one I'd knit (color, sizing, etc.).  It's quite helpful for searching out yarn alternatives too.  You'll have to stay tuned to what I pick out for myself next...

In the meantime I've started on Versa, the tunic style, for the older girls and plan to use yarn from the stash.  I have a true rainbow of yarn left overs and there's no better way to use them then in a yoke or as trim!