Dyeing workshop.

Some time ago I attended yarn dyeing workshop organized by Mica of Yarn Pony in her Edinburgh studio. I’ve been interested in dyeing yarn for some time now and after experimenting at home with some food colouring as well as with acid dyes, taking a part in the workshop seemed like a natural next step for me.

The workshop was an amazing experience. Not only I could see a real yarn dyer’s studio but I could also see and learn the art of hand-dyeing step by step. Mica shared many useful tips and advices with me, things I wouldn’t probably have learnt on my own from web tutorials or books. She showed me the magic of coming up with new colours. I think I enjoyed that part the most: playing with different dyes and mixing them together in search for some interesting colourways.

And this is what I brought home:

I still don’t know what I will knit with this yarn but I will definitely use them together. I think they match each other perfectly, don't they?

Happy knitting!

FO: Little Ancolie.

Few days ago I finished this lovely cardigan for G. It was a test knit of the newest design by talented Nadia. Some of you already know that I'm a fan of her designs. This one is my new favourite.

Pattern:

Little Ancolie by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne.

Fantastic design, great pattern that gives beautiful result. I loved working on this sweet spring/summer cardigan. It fits Gaia perfectly and she loves it. It’s very girly and the picot edging is a cute detail. The pattern itself is nicely presented; the instructions are well written and easy to follow, the charts are clear and easily memorable. I hope to see many Little Ancolies popping out this spring and summer!

Yarn:

For this project I used Malabrigo Arroyo in English Rose (Gaia’s choice). I knit with this yarn for the very first time and I don’t know what to think of it. There are many Arroyo enthusiasts out there but I’m not one of them. After reading quite good reviews about Arroyo I had quite high expectations about it, I guess. The colour variegation is very pretty but the yarn itself didn’t win my heart. It felt a bit squeaky on the needles and I have a feeling it will pill terribly. Plus, there were several knots in each skein, a rather big disappointment if you ask me. But then again: it’s not very expensive if you think of its yardage, so maybe you shouldn’t expect too much from it. I’m not sure if I will use it again.

Note to myself: You know how you buy few skeins of hand-dyed, variegated yarn and the label suggests to alternate skeins every few rows while knitting for the best result, and you think: “Meh, maybe I’ll get lucky”? Well, think twice because chances are you won’t get lucky. Don’t be lazy and alternate the skeins. I didn’t and I can see a difference between the sleeves and the rest of the body. Not a big difference but it is there and I can see it.

More photos on my Ravelry project page, here.

Happy knitting!

On cooking yarn.

I hand-dyed some yarn yesterday night. Lots of fun and lots of mess. Note to myself: ALWAYS wear gloves. My hands look like I'm one of the Smurfs now. But that's ok because I love that gradient result.

Edinburgh Yarn Festival



 

Just wanted to share few photos from yesterday's Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

 

 

It was fantastic. There were so many knitters and spinners and crocheters. So many yarn to drool over and knits to admire. I met lovely Ysolda and Dani and other talented people. There also were few stalls with buttons and I was happy to find TextileGarden among them. It's my favourite online button shop and it was so nice to speak to the owner in person.

 



I think I got dizzy from all those colours and shapes...

 

 



The amount of yarn on display was quite overwhelming and I found it pretty difficult to choose yarn that I really wanted to buy. After hours of browsing I finally settled on three delicious skeins from YarnPony. Very squishy 100% merino wool, hand-dyed here in Edinburgh. I'm really happy with my purchase and with the fact that I didn't buy anything else. I'm trying hard to control myself when it comes to shopping for new yarn and I think I'm slowly growing out of spontaneous buys.

 





The colour is very difficult to photograph. It's much darker in real life, a deep dark cherry red. I don't know yet what I will knit with it but I'm considering this lovely pullover.

Happy knitting!

Mojo's back!

I have lots to share with you today. I've been back to my needles, knitting quite feverishly; I've finished three projects this week and now I'm digging through my stash in search of new projects. Here are my recent FOs:

1. Cable sweater for C.

I started knitting it in November last year; it was supposed be Christmas sweater but, of course, I didn't manage to complete it on time. I was knitting it on and off and I'm so glad it's finally finished. It's seamless, knitted from top to bottom. I improvised the cable pattern as I went. I think the sleeves are too large but C. says he likes them this way so if he's happy, I'm happy. I just know I would't be able to frog the whole thing up to the arm increases to make the sleeves smaller. I admit I got pretty tired with this project.

Yarn: Sirdar Click Aran with Wool

Needles: 5mm/ US8 

2. Baby beanie.

I produced this little hat one evening. It's a gift for my friend's baby boy who was born last Sunday.

Yarn: Patons Fairytale DK

Needles: dpn 4mm/ US6

3. Stripy sweater.

I just love it! My quickest knit ever: it took only three days to complete it. I had some Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran sitting in my stash and after some search on Ravelry I found this fantastic project by Audrey. The pattern is "$5 in Paris" but I didn't  follow it. It's an easy seamless top, knitted from top to bottom. I wrote my notes on my Ravelry page (here).

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran

Needles: 4mm/ US6 and 4.5mm/ US7

***

From other news: yesterday I finally visited Loop, the legendary yarn shop in Islington (though the nearest tube station is Angel; I didn't know that and had a bit of a walk from Highbury&Islington station).

The shop is a real paradise. I could easily live there... Not only they stock high quality yarns but the way everything is presented makes this place very special. And the customer service is excellent too; you really feel welcome (something I never experience when I visit I Knit shop, for example). The shop assistant complimented on my Noro shawlette that I had wrapped around my neck. It felt good :)

I was a good girl and didn't let myself to buy much, although I was really tempted. The choice of yarn that they offer is fantastic but I only bought one skein of Colinette Jitterbug. I plan to knit socks with it; I wanted small shawlette but I think one skein wont be enough.

And the last thing: it's official now- I am addicted to Araucania yarns. I have stashed some more:

Happy Knitting!

Little update.

Not much has been happening on my needles recently. There are few projects I've been working on for a while but it seems like it takes ages to complete them. I feel a bit slow with my needles; I have million ideas running in my head though. And I bought new yarn, again... Just couldn't resist; last days have been so cold and grey and depressing and I feel so hungry for colors now.

One of my work in progress: baby sweater. Only sleeves need to be done and some finishing touches. I miss colors so much and yet for some reason I'm knitting something grey. I might call it "Topolina" (little mouse). After finishing it, I will play with pinks and blues and greens again, I swear.

Yarn, yarn and more yarn...

I promised myself that I would knit from my stash as much as possible without buying new yarns and what did I do last week? I spoiled myself with two bags of new yarns! Seriously, I need to start working on my strong will, stop browsing online yarn shops and pass Peter Jones with closed eyes whenever I go to King's Road. Last Friday I went to pick up C. and on my way I popped in to PJ haberdashery department. I really didn't want to buy anything but, well, once again I couldn't resist... I left with bag full of Rowan yarns (cocoon, colourscape and cashsoft dk). And when we came back home that evening I found a package from online store with the yarn that I had ordered just one day before (new Araucania in delicious colors).

This is it. I'm done. I've stashed so much yarn recently that I should really start seriously knitting it down. For a while now I've been thinking of opening my shop on Etsy or/and Folksy with my little knits (baby hats, scarves, mitts and maybe sweaters for kids).

Sweet rainbow.

Few days ago I hand dyed yarn for the very first time. For a log time now I've been thinking about extending my knitting passion and starting to dye yarn and this was my first little step into this direction. I decided to use Kool Aid kit for my first dyeing experience just to see if it really is such a fun as some other fellow bloggers and knitters have revealed.

Well, it was. I enjoyed every moment of it. I had a little accident though, I clumsily dropped one of the glasses (it slipped from my hand) but luckily nothing else got stained but yarn.

I was a bit worried how to heat up the yarn since I don't own a microwave. In the end I decided to use my oven. I "baked" the yarn for about 20 minutes in my Pyrex dish, checking every now and then. I think this was the hardest part for me. I wasn't sure when it was time to take it out but I guess I did well: the yarn didn't felt and the colours look fine.

I have six sachets of Kool Aid left so I might be using them very soon.

Green

Have I ever mentioned that green is my favourite colour?
What's yours?

Some new yarn and works in progress.

Some more new yarn in my stash... I got 7 skeins of this wonderful Filtes King Baby from C. It's fingering weight but I will be knitting it double- I already made a swatch and it does look great. I don't know what I am going to knit with it yet and anyway, with all the projects started already, I will have to wait until I'm ready to use this yarn.

Filtes King Color Baby
Gauge: 27 st/35 rows
Needles: US 2½ - 4 / 3 - 3.5mm

Also, my Sirdar Tweedie arrived. I'm going to knit a Christmas sweater for C. and I hope that 12 skeins are enough for this project. I already started it few days ago and it knits nicely although I'm not a big fan of Sirdar yarn. The project I chose is "Elliot" but I will write more about it in my next post (I need to scan some photos first). I do like the color of this yarn:

Sirdar Tweedie Chunky
Gauge: 14st/ 19 rows
Needles: US 10.5/ 6.5mm

A piece of back of new sweater:

And some more works in progress:
My very first shawl (or rather shawlette) is almost completed. I've got only one skein of yarn left. I'm happy with the result. It's been a good shawl-knitting exercise, maybe now I wil try to do something more complicated like lace shawl. I love Travelling Woman pattern but I still feel a bit lost while reading the charts.

Little Sister's Dress by Tora Frøseth. Half of it it's done and I hope to finish it before Christmas.... I love this pattern. If I have more time I might knit yet another one.

Mr. Bean Bear by Sarah Bradberry, my first knitted toy for G. I can't wait to finish it and see it done, hope it is going to be one cute little bear! There are lots of pieces to knit which is fun but thinking about sewing them all up together is already giving me a headache... (I so hate sewing up the seams...). This time my seams look neat and tidy- thanks to some explanation of my dear friend. I hope it makes the process of joining the seams easier... So far I've got body, legs and one arm parts done.

And Boheme by Allegra Wermuth that has been on my needles since September, I think. I'd love to finally finish it before Christmas. It's in a deep red color and I think that G. would look very nice and "Christmasy" in it.