My stuff came from the 11/1 update!!! I’m not normally such a huge wollmeise stalker, but nursing the new baby keeps me up pretty late. Or it has in the past. I’ve got one more little WD coming and then I’m done, cause my pocketbook really can’t handle this. And some is hopefully going to various friends. Hint hint.

First up, we’re different: Kunterbunt. From right to left: Der letzte Versuch (totally a keeper), Red Hot Chili (Sold), Sonne, Vergißmeinnicht and Pfferminz Prinz. I set aside Pfferminz Prinz for some lucky friend of mine. I asked a specific friend if she wanted Vergißmeinnicht and we’ll see what the answer is and I put Sonne in my will trade/sell pile in Ravelry.

Gorgeous all of them, though I’m not really an orange or yellow person. I really loved seeing a whole rainbow though. And I got more variegated than I would have expected.

Then, we’re different: Rot. From right to left. I think I got the order right.

Grantapafel, Baba Jaga, Aurora 2, Dornoschen that’s a keeper for sure, Ruby Thursday. I really like Baba Jaga. I could be persuaded to part with Grantapafel, Ruby Thursday and Aurora 2 pretty easily.

Then, we’re different: Gemischt. Unfortunately for me I scored Grantapfel again and Maus Alt (gone already) and my husband won’t wear wool socks. So someone else’s gain I hope!

Yummy.

shop update

Last post for a bit. I updated the shop yesterday with a lot of Lachesis sock from Sock Summit. Sometime this fall there will also be some of a new sock yarn that is a cabled two-ply and also the 80-10-10 merino, cashmere, nylon sock yarn that has everyone talking. I also got some of the silver yarn base so if there’s something you want dyed in it please let me know. I ordered a very limited amount and am already going to do some reds, pinks or navy blues. I’ve gotten half my crockpot replaced so far, so I’ll be able to kettle dye maybe as soon as two weekends from now. (This coming weekend is Oregon Flock and Fiber after all.) This is a lot harder though with a baby and her dad will need to have the time to watch her. He’s really busy teaching, even with a smaller load this term.

I’m offering 20% off all yarns from now until October 31st in honor of Socktoberfest. Just be sure to type in “Socktoberfest” in the notes. I’ll refund the price difference through Paypal as always.

non-knitting – freezer paper stencils

So one of the things that has kept me pretty busy is the near constant stream of parents. I have two sets, Josh  has one. They were here for a total of 5 1/2 weeks all told and were both a blessing and a curse, each set in its own peculiar way. I’m glad they were here though and we had a terrific time with all of our visitors.

When my Mom was here, we did some freezer paper stencils on onesies. All of our parental sets have at least one very artistic member. Josh’s mom is a professional artist;  my dad was a graphic artist who still designs a lot of sets for the opera and blogs about the arts; my mom wrote and illustrated 11 children’s books in her younger days. Originally, I’d planned to do some iron-ons for onesies, but then I saw the freezer paper stenciled onesies Kristi and her friends did on Knitter’s Anonymous.

A quick hint for those of you who wish to try this. When googling for images, you want words like “silhouette.” I got the best ones though from the baby center.com and martha stewart living. There are some good tips in the Freezer Paper Stencils Flickr group also.

I’ve got lots more downstairs waiting to be painted. Some will be gifted away. And I’ve got another one somewhere I haven’t photographed yet.

1. P9190049, 2. P9190048, 3. P9190047, 4. P9190046, 5. P9190045, 6. P9190044

I should really get those side-snap t-shirts on her. We bought them when she was newborn, so they aren’t going to fit much longer. The onesies are in a much larger size.

we’re different

There has been a lot going on, mainly not knitting. I’ve mainly been taking care of baby. This is a stash post, not a knitting post so it will go quicker. There was some knitting though.

Shortly after Sasha was born, I moved my computer in front of a fold-down couch that we use for guests in our second bedroom. It’s a good place to nurse the baby. And since she’s mostly a snacker, there’s a lot of sitting around waiting for to wake up and eat again.

I decided to read my way through the “How to get Wollmeise” thread on the Wollmeiseholics Anonymous forum on Ravelry. This is where I learned about Update Scanner. This is a little utility for firefox that lets you know when a particular webpage has been updated. It’s darn easy to use. Only, while I was installing it, there was a shop update. So I’m not sure whether it was update scanner working for me exactly.

Hooray for late night nursing, because I totally scored a grab bag of Kunterbunt, a package of 5 skeins of Wollmeise that are all different. Fortunately for me the dollar has gone up against the Euro since the last time I bought Wollmeise over a year and a half ago. So the price per skein was pretty comparable to most US Indie Dyed yarns. Cheaper really, though that’s because these are supposedly seconds. They aren’t all seconds though; some of the We’re Different can just be left over from other updates. There’s no indication though that there’s anything less than pure gorgeousness here. It’s Wollmeise, so I bought it with 0 thought of how I was doing on stash busting. Since I do my annual yarn budgeting based on yardage, ~2850 yards is really going to blow my budget. And I just had bought yarn for Seneca and some from the Sock Summit.

Here is the Frog Creek Fiber yarn from Sock Summit’s Dye for Glory Contest.

In need of a baby photograph? Well, this is a knitting blog.

500th post contest results

The winner of my 500th post contest is Kate A. (my condolences to all the other Kate and Katie’s I know who probably read the first four letters and got excited). There weren’t really any correct guesses; there was one, but I’d told that person, so that didn’t count. Good thing it was a random number generator contest. Kate A will receive a skein of hand-dyed yarn either from my Etsy shop or custom dyed for her in my newbase, Sheila’s Sock, a 100% merino superwash cabled-two ply fingering weight. Thanks everyone for playing. Now back to motherhood for a bit. Here is Sasha after a recent bath.

some new magazines

I’m always on the look out for new publications that feature knitting patterns. My favorite magazines are the oft-read Interweave Knits and Knitty and more recently Twist Collective; however, I’ve been known to occasionally pick up Knit Scene and Spin Off also. If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d get Rowan’s publication, even though I don’t really consider it to be a magazine in the same way as the others.

and now for something completely different

(with apologies to MP).

Today I did something a little differently than I have as of late. I read a book – Julie and Julia in fact. I heartily enjoy reading the occasional food related memoir. I haven’t been reading very much for the past 38 weeks or so, unless you can count the six or seven baby books we’ve been browsing our way through. As a blogger, I emphasized with a lot of the emotions that Julie must have been going through as she worked through her project. And it was lovely to sit down and read again. I was completely taken out of my head with her experiences; something that is lovely when you are 38 weeks pregnant and feeling larger than a house.If you want to read about what inspires bloggers to blog or to take on the projects they do, read Julie and Julia. If you want to read more about her adventures in cooking, than I refer you to her blog archives. I’ll be reading more of them and I expect that a short blog entry will be what my attention span while breastfeeding Sasha after she makes her debut.

Knitting, while it will always be one of my favorite passions, will never replace books for me as my first love. I learned how to read at a very early age (somewhere between 2 and 3) so I could be in the church choir and was instantly taken by the written word. I’ve read fewer books than I might have over the past few years that I’ve been blogging about knitting. Even fewer this last year with the pregnancy and the dyeing, especially if you discount the books on pregnancy and labor.

What’s worse, is I’ve been spending less time writing. I started the blog, believe it or not, to maintain and strengthen my writing skills during one of my hiatuses from paid work. The hope was and still is that someday I’ll kill my writers block sufficiently to write something else. Knitting is a great vehicle for me to focus on the craft of the writing without having to worry so much about the content. Unfortunately for the past couple of years or so, there less of a focus on the writing and and more on knitting and related crafts. Don’t get me wrong, I love the dyeing and the knitting, but it was always about the writing FIRST. I’ll still be dyeing and knitting for the time being, but hopefully this fall I’ll be able to bring a little more to you in terms of writing about the dyeing process.

In the meantime, please feast on Christine’s Stay On Baby Booties [r] by Christine Bourquin. They were knit with Three Fates Yarns Bluefaced Leciester Platinum Sock on Size US 1 needles. Thanks to my husband for the fabulous photographs. It’s 75% Superwash BFL and 25% Nylon and comes in 437 yard hanks that way approximately 100 grams. These were knit in my new Sock Summit inspired colorway, Aqua Vitae in the light version. The remainder of this skein (about 395 yards) can by found at my Etsy Shop, Three Fates Yarns at a discounted price for the yardage. I can only say that this was a fateful project I only did it since the skein broke on my new winder. Can you guess how much yarn was left over when I finished the booties from the lump I left off the finished product? About three inches.

finished objects

Well, the good thing about the crazy all over the place, non-focused, ADHD knitting I do is that sometimes multiple things get finished in the same week.
These are  Christine’s Stay On Baby Booties [r] I’ve got to go buy ribbons, but they are ready for being at the Sock Summit Booth (Knit A Bit, #808).

And this is Baby Mine by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot. I think it would fit a 6 month old, not a 3 month old, but we’ll see. I’m hoping I can get it on her without it being too large around late October, early November. Pattern available from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Size 4 US needles. Used 1 skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock medium weight in Moirae. Quick knit really. I finished the 80% of the yoke during a marathon 8 hr baby class – it was a make up session.

black sheep

When I went to Black Sheep, I checked out the prize winning table. There was a really really cute baby surprise there. I was looking at it and my name just popped off the tag. It turns out, three of my friends from Eugene got together and spun, dyed and knit it for the baby and then entered it into Black Sheep. It won first prize! I mean of course I examined it; it was a baby surprise! They gave it to me later, along with the ribbon, but it was a great surprise. It’s newborn sized, so I’ll be happy if she gets to wear it a few times in October. They suggested I try blocking the heck out of it. We do still have some colder days in Oregon though; Monday was one of them thank goodness. I’ve been melting down into various puddles   caused by heat stroke, hunger (I don’t eat enough when it’s hot I think) and hormones. One more H and well, a whole a of 4-H breastfeeding jokes would seem to be in order. Thank goodness the last factor is thirst and not heiferdom.

Also, I picked up this prettyness from Creatively Dyed. I was tempted by her luxury yarn base and by the one that’s like Wollmeise’s yarn base (I think it’s Steele), but in the end, I had to have this skein of Calypso in Annato. I’d oggled her yarn some while at Stitches West and it was either go after that or Miss Babs. Next time it will probably be Miss Babs unless I can make it to Sock Summit in person. I’m mildly concerened that fewer vendors will be at Oregon Flock and Fiber this year due to Sock Summit. I certainly hope it will be as vendorful as always.

some purples (mostly) reskeined

I finally labeled and named some more yarn that you haven’t seen unless you’ve gone off to my flickr account. Now it’s in the shop or in the box marked “sock summit”.

1. lacheis sock – grapevine, 2. brower – lachesis sock, 3. lachesis sock – star thistle, 4. lachesis sock – magnolia, 5. lachesis sock – summer sandals, 6. lacheis sock – bittersweet, 7. lachesis sock – cranberry bog, 8. lachesis sock – larrkspur, 9. lachesis sock – prince

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

1. lachesis sock – delphinium revisited, 2. lachesis sock – a world of purple, 3. lachesis sock – evil stepmother

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

some baby things

I started this project in the spring, but left it behind in San Francisco. It has recently come back to me. I panicked, thought I was knitting the newborn size, and began my attack. It turns out I’m knitting a 3 month size and it’s sized either generously or my loose knitting is showing. Probably the former rather than the latter. It’s Baby Mine by the Yarn Harlot and I’m knitting it in Socks That Rock medium weight in Moirae. What other spirit would I pick for the baby? I put the sleeves on some temporary needles and unfortunately they’ve come off a few times and will need some repair when I get to the yolk. For now though, I’ll leave them be.

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

shop update

I’ve updated the shop with

• BFL Platinum Sock; a 75% Superwash BFL and 25% Nylon Blend.  Most of it is a hybrid kettle-dyed, poured watercolor technique. Some is hand-painted. A few are nearly solids.
• Lachesis Sock; a 100% Superwash Merino that is a little squishier than the HA I was using on Fatalist Sock
• 100% Superwash Australian Merino Top spinning fiber. It’s smooshy and wonderful.
• A couple skeins of Knit Picks Bare in Periwinkle.
• A skein of culture sock in orange crush

I recently entered a new colorway, aqua vitae in[r]  bfl platinum sock, in the Sock Summit contest, Dye for Glory. It’s also available in the shop in lachesis sock and comes in mostly medium and dark shades, occasionally light. My items will be sold at Sock Summit through Knit a Bit, LLC. I also entered a colorway called poodle skirts and saddle shoes [r] in the lachesis sock. So please support me on Ravelry! Since you can’t vote right now, consider eyeing it and pushing the love button for now if you like it.

1. orange crush – culture sock, 2. aqua vitae dark – lachesis sock, 3. under the lilacs – lachesis sock, 4. wisteria lane – lachesis sock, 5. people eater – lachesis sock, 6. grape rocket – lachesis sock, 7. if the devil wore purple, lachesis sock, 8. wisteria lane – lachesis sock, 9. newbury street – lachesis sock, 10. prince – culture sock, 11. sweedish fish – bfl platinum sock, 12. creamsicle – bfl platinum sock, 13. chartreuse – bfl platinum sock, 14. green dreams – bfl platinum sock, 15. aqua vitae light – bfl platinum sock, 16. orange crush – lachesis sock, 17. aqua vitae – bfl platinum sock, 18. pink panther – clotho australian merino top, 19. peppermint stick – clotho australian merino top, 20. phoenix feather – clotho australian merino top, 21. just ducky – clotho australian merino top, 22. prickly pear – clotho australian merino top, 23. laurels – clotho australian merino top, 24. winter plum, 25. marizpan pumpkin, 26. hippie chix – clotho australian merino top, 27. marizpan pumpkin – clotho australian merino top, 28. fox tail – clotho australian merino top

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

I’ve been knitting a pair of baby booties in the light aqua vitae for a display at sock summit. I used just a bit of one skein; the remainder is being sold as a discounted skein. It’s 395 yards. It’s a bit lighter than in this photo as you can see by photo #2.

On a more personal note, here I am full of baby at 35 weeks.

more to dye for

In preparation for Sock Summit, where hopefully I’ll be participating on a consignment basis I’ve been dyeing up some yarns. I’m hoping eventually to create repeatable colorways and am getting a little closer. In the mean time, there’s been some older dye solution that needed using up. This resulted in the kettle dyed yarns below. These are “Moirae’s Limited Edition,” which is the name I’m giving to the new 100% merino superwash yarn base I obtained. It’s a every so slightly heavier than the Kona Fingering Weight I was using before for Fatalist Sock and has a tigher twist. I used it to dye my Twilight inspired yarn. I may continue to dye the Fatalist Sock, but am still not sure about it. I’ll be winding this yarn up soon and then it will go into the shop. Some of it might go for samples at Sock Summit.

Below are some more. The first grouping is some kettle dyed yarn where I’ve experimented with Hot Fuschia and Burgundy and have layered in black and brown (in different skeins). I’ve got three more paler one’s in the basement in which I’m layering browns and pumpkin on top. In the middle chair, there’s green, cream and pink and a black white, fuschia and pink yarn. The latter is for Mia. I’m not sure I matched her wild pink crocs. In keeping with the shoe theme, the first two skeins of the  third chair match my own Teva’s. The one’s on the far right represent a darker version, without the teal.

So here’s a question. I’ve got to have some knit samples at Sock Summit. What socks should I make? I’m making Viper Pilots out of my bamboo. I will need to do socks in a semi-solid and in a multi-color yarn. I will probably let the person decide, but any ideas? How about Nebula by Cookie A for the wine colored yarn?

on monday

In other news, on Saturday, I put the heels on Kai-Mei after several false starts. I’ve been misplacing the needles for these regularly, so I’m stopped again. I tried to work on them at the doctor’s office, but no go.

Monday stunk. I had to take a test. In so far as one can (one can’t) prepare for the test, I spent the weekend not cramming sweets. Since it was a 3-hr glucose test, I opted to use the wake-up call as a way of spending most of eating better, although granted Friday night involved a large amount of birthday deserts at a party and an ice cream cookie sandwich I’d eaten to get me to the party in the first place. So this test involves going and having your blood taken three times at one-hour intervals and a baseline test. First problem was that the nurse on the phone failed to mention that I needed an appointment. Second was that they only conduct one of these tests per day. First obstacle hurdled was that they decided they could see me anyway. Third problem appeared when I realized there was going to be a baseline test, so even though it’s called a three-hour glucose test, it really takes three and a half to four hours. I’d only scheduled three and a half hours or so of my husband’s time not including the driving time. Eeek. It all worked out in the end and I don’t have gestational diabetes. I was having nightmares of an uber large baby and a diabetic child which would be blamed on my poor nutrition, rather than a possible genetic disposition. Unfortunately, my husband’s cousin does have Type II.

fiddle dee dee

I finished something! I think this is only my 4th FO of 2009, even though one was a sweater.

Pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia (Hello Yarn), Needles: US Size 3 (Crystal Palace Bamboo, DPN), Yarn: Cascade 220 in Heather Grey and overdyed natural in Lilac, Mussel Shell Blue, Tuquoise, Emerald Green and Spring Green (I think). Started April 11, 2009, Finished May 9, 2009. Here they are on Ravelry.

round six and other updates

Last week I started Round 6 Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Currently this blanket is 26.5″ x 26″ or 689 square inches. According to the pattern for, the finished size is 47″ x 47″, or 2209 square inches, so I’m at 34%. More than half the yarn is left, but I wouldn’t say 66%. So I’ll see if I’ll be making a purchase at some point, or just make a smaller version.

night and day

So, it’s probably worth the $ for me to get Adobe Light Room eventually.

Check out the comparison between what my camera shot and what the shot looks like after development in lightroom. It’s much closer to the actual color now. (We’re looking at the fifth roving here. The ‘blue’ one.)

It’s all named now btw.

1. Brown Betty. 2. Apricot 3. Preserves 4. Marionberry 5. Blueberry Picnic

Uh huh. Something just isn’t right with the color sensor on the camera. It’s what we get for getting a cheaper model I guess. It’s an Olympus Stylus FE-340, quite light weight and it has a great zoom. But it’s ideas on colors are less than stellar, even if you manipulate the white balance. So I’ll add it to the equipment list. Adobe Lightroom and a skein winder. My scale apparently is still quite good, as long as it’s fully charged.

Loppem

I took a lot of pictures on Sunday. I realized I didn’t ever show off my Loppem with the buttons actually on it. So here it is.

And here’s the button shot.

little liza jane and a yarn crawl

This is the progress I’ve made on Little Liza Jane, which I’m making for my cousin. Her baby is due a couple of weeks before mine. I’m making the 6 mos. size for her. It will have to be worn over other clothes, since it will be cold out when her baby is the right size to wear it. I made kind of an ironic discovery, which is that the Cotlin feels a lot (to me) like Debbie Bliss’ Cathay yarn, although obviously without the slipperiness of the silk and rayon that’s in the Cathay. What’s ironic is that I have six skeins of the Cathay in an extremely similar color and another six skeins in orange.  I guess that just means I could make more dresses .

actual size

Currently this blanket is 18″ x 20″ or 360 square inches. According to the pattern for Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors, the finished size is 47″ x 47″, or 2209 square inches. This means I’m about 16% done.  I’m doing about 40 inches square per stripe at the moment, less than 2% of the total finished product. I guess it’s gonna be a while if I do only one more stripe a day. Good thing the stripes start getting bigger, although not significantly enough to make much of a difference in terms of the percentage of the total. So assuming I’ve got to do 42 more stripes, that’s 10 more rows of stripes, or 4 total repeats of each color. Wonder if there’s enough yarn for that. Well, I’ll knit until I’m done and then decide if I need more yarn from knit picks.

In the mean time, enjoy the parade of partially finished blankie shots. If only those were something you could do like Tequila. Not so quick.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

more bamboo, dyeing and mittens

This is more culture sock. 430 yards. 80% superwash merino, 20% bamboo.

mitten progress

These  Fiddlehead Mittens [r] from Hello Yarn (Adrian Bizilia) are a quick knit. At least the outside is. But there is a liner that needs to be done afterwards… I hand dyed this yarn. I’m hoping to get inspired to design a pair of mittens with my own hand dyed yarns, but in a DK weight yarn. Should be fun. I think kits would be a great way to sell heavier weight yarns.

another semi-rainy semi-sunny day in april

This is the Vintage Baby Cardigan from Shibui Knits. It happens also to be the Staff of the Month pick over at Knit Purl. I’m using the Lorna’s Laces that I got with a birthday gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe. The colorway is pilsen. It’s mindblowingly perfect for someone with pregnancy brain. No thinking. Just pure accomplishment. So there’s 5″ of garter stitch there and I’ve got another 1 3/4″ before I start working on sleeves. It’s the six month size. I’ve got a gorgeous glass button I picked up in California in 2008 and that will finish the whole thing off beautifully. There’s the added bonus of getting me on the board in the Lime and Violet Sock Marathon. I’ve had a lot of trouble finishing a pair of socks since becoming pregnant.

This is some Cascade 220 that I was supposed to be using for the TKGA master’s program, but I reallocated it for my Fiddlehead Mittens. I’m not sure what happened during the measuring processs, but it came out 3 skeins minus the swatch or two I’ve done already. It shouldn’t have. They should have been 50 yards each and one at 60 making 360 yards, not 660. So I don’t know what the heck I did. I’ll weigh it and figure that out later. Because I didn’t have any left over of the original cream, I’m going to use a heather grey for the main color. You’ll notice there’s one extra color there. I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out and wanted to be able to pick and choose. I’m leaving off the last color.

new graphics

I paid a friend a small sum to put together an ad for Ravelry for me. So as soon as I can actually snag a space, it will be running for a month.

Feel free to grab an icon for your own blog. It should link to: http://ThreeFatesKnitting.Etsy.com. The code should look something like this, preferably with your own host for the image.

<a href=”http://ThreeFatesKnitting.Etsy.com” target=”_blank”><img class=”alignleft” src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3565/3428625223_6d90772251.jpg?v=0″ alt=”" width=”70″></a>

That will give you one half as tall like the one in my widgets.

It was put together by Bonnie, aka thebon. She’s one of three graphic artists I know. The first one is my Dad, but he’s semi-retired which only means he’s busier than ever. The third one is my friend Katie and if she comments here I can put up a link.

proof

This is proof that

1. Crocheting is crazy.
2. I’m crazy.
3. A blog entitled “Moirae Knitting” might also include crochet once in a rare while.
4. And that this blanket is still quite small. Only 2′ across really. My friends pointed out that the photo I showed you was a lot smaller than they’d thought.

Something cool in latin probably belongs here but it’s 8:30 a.m, which is not a sane hour for the the unemployed and childless (with apologies to my friends with jobs and or children).

more squares

Here is some more progress on Babette. I guess I’m obsessed. I’m hoping the seams will disappear magically somehow in the wash. Getting those to disappear seems to be really hard, probably because it’s cotton. My ends of course have a way of coming back out. There are several square knots in here. I was taught not to do that. Then again, I was taught to work with wool.

out of character (somewhat)

I was reading about a special offer from Webs on Tahki Cotton Classic, which I’ve been hoarding for a couple of years for different Mason-Dixon projects and this reminded me about Babette. And I thought yeah, I could make that for the baby. Or for my distant cousin’s baby (she’s also having a little girl). My cousin is due a couple of weeks before I am. And I could start now and just dig into what I’ve got.

I opted for a relatively limited color palette. I’m using maybe 12-15 colors (I keep adding a couple one at a time) in pinks, browns and neutrals. I am probably going to add a springy green also to keep the whole thing lively or this very purply blue I’ve got. Maybe both. I keep realizing that this thing is actually a very small blanket, so I’m going to have to make another panel more than I’ve planned and that will require more yarn…

Loppem

I bought this incredible yarn, Berroco Palace in Shanghai Blue, from Webs while at Stitches West and started on my Loppem [r] sweater as soon as I got home. I think I must fall in love with patterns based on the colors the designer uses, because this is the second time in recent years I’ve knit a sweater in the exact yarn and color the pattern was in the picture.

twilight

Some friends my local knitting group thought it would be cool if they could have some Twilight themed sock yarn.

100% Merino Wool and Hand-painted by me.

This is a new base and I’m thinking of calling the whole thing Evening Sock. Thoughts?

a continuation of a sale

I owe you

…a work-in-progress shot of the Twists and Turns Socks [r] by Stariel (Ariel Altaras) from How to Knit in the Woods. I’m a bit stalled because I have trouble coordinating the gusset count and the cable count. The yarn is Sea Wool from Fleece Artist. I love these socks and will go back to them soon.The yarn is not quite as orange as it is appearing in this shot.

a bit behind

I’m a bit behind on doing stuff for the blog. I did a fair amount of dyeing in January and I’m not done yet. Here’s a shot of the first batch. I gave one skein away, but nothing has been posted yet for sale. If you see something you want, just tell me what it is. It may be a while before I get it together since I’m still dyeing the last half of the order.

Some of them are bamboo and wool blend and some are a merino nylon. Most of the semi-solids are Cauldron sock. The green is gone as is one of the Cauldron sock pinks. So because I’ve got new yarn, I need new yarn line names and so that’s really what the hold up is. I’ll still be using Henry’s Attic too. I just wanted to expand.

something’s not right

I was sorry to learn that the toddler aged child of a friend of mine passed away suddenly the other night. He leaves behind his twin sister and his loving parents. Somehow this is all made more real by being pregnant or the pregnancy hormones. Or maybe just that its happened to a close friend. It really doesn’t matter how real this is to me. It just sucks and more to my friend and her husband than anyone else.

I vow to cherish every day I get with my own child. I try to use that as a calming thought. Stress is not great for baby.

On a more positive note, I’m going to Stitches West today and will spend the weekend hopefully soaking up happy vibes from knitters and the CA weather. Our rainy season finally seems to have made it here.