Stripes

I loved how Winter’s Day turned out so much that I held one back for me. I need a project to finish in the car today, so yesterday I did some swatching.

On the left is a circular sample, and on the right a flat sample.  Same # of stitches, same machine settings, etc.  I was surprised they were so similar.

I did another big swatch, changing stitch patterns as I went. As predicted, fine lace was completely lost. In the middle though is the backside of a tuck stitch that made some interesting designs, and above that is another tuck that caused the yarn to speckle instead of stripe. (Pardon the yellow lighting!)

But in the end, I went with my old standby plain jane pattern. I like them. One sock got an extra bunch up of purple at the ankle where I had done some increasing for the heel, but nothing huge.  And I have enough leftover to make some matching fingerless mitts.

Have a great weekend!

The busiest part of scarf season for me is finally over, and in the meantime I had quite a few requests for rainbows on worsted weight…..so here are the newest ones:

Rainbow Blue Faced Leicester  (There’s two of these 1lb skeins, generally the same, but there’s more blue in one.)

What happens when you ripen a rainbow?  Mature Rainbow!!!  Hand Dyed on Superwash Merino Worsted 4 ply Yarn

This one is a favorite for bright color lovers…. Tropical Rainbow.

For pastel lovers, we have Tutti Fruity.  Again on Superwash Merino Worsted.

And then I had some fun with cool winter colors…..

Pale Blue Skies on SW Worsted and Tiger Cub Fingering

Winter’s Day on Tiger Cub Fingering

Abigail on Corriedale Top Roving  (I know it looks a bit grey, but it is really pale purple and pale blues)

Pale Blue Skies on Corriedale Combed Top

And some other stuff!!

Captivating on Corriedale Top

Dappled on Corriedale Top

The Yarn Formerly Known As…….

And a former yarn brought back to life through customer request…..

Sunset in a Blender on Tiger Cub Fingering

My Fiber Barista friends are passing around a game today….you ask for a letter, then post about 10 things that you like that start with said letter.  Natalie from The Yarn Yard dubbed me with the letter ‘S’.

1. Stripes.  Might as well get it out of the way!  I like self-striping yarn, I knit about 80 custom striped scarves a year, and I’ve named my business after a striped animal.  Strangely enough, I don’t wear many stripes.  The occasional sweater, and definitely socks….but otherwise I’m a solids girl.

2. Silence.  We homeschool, so my kids are around me nearly 24/7.  I love them, but sometimes it is just nice for it to be quiet sometimes.  But not too quiet….then I have to investigate!!!

3. Spinning.  It’s really my fun new passion.  Lizzie Lendrum and I are getting the hang of things, I just need more time in my day!!

4. Snow.  This really seems contradictory, because I HATE the cold, but there are soft fluffy flakes falling right now, and it is so pretty.  I’d also rather look at snow than the brown mess that is under it.

5. Salvia.  These are the spiky purple flowers.  I love them in my garden…they come back every year, and flower away all summer, even in less than ideal conditions.  (Is it spring yet?)

6. Socks.  Of the wool variety.  If you’ve never had a pair of socks knit just to fit you, and from a nice soft wool….you are missing out.  I wish I had started knitting them sooner.

7.  Sanita.  Ok, this is cheating a little.  Sanita made Dansko shoes (apparently they’ve split ways).  I have a couple pair of mary jane clogs.  They show off my socks, AND I’m about 2 inches taller without wearing high heels.  I’m not short, but the little boost really seems to change my perspective on things and impart some extra confidence.  When I’m not out, I’m wearing Crocs, though.  Squishy wins any day.

8. Soup.  I love a great soup with lots of vegetables.  My family doesn’t….they are tomato or chicken noodle only folks.  Minestrone, cheesy broccoli, homemade hamburger soup with a bag of mixed veges in there….mmmmmmmmmmmmm  good! 

9. Sweets.  Yeah, I have a sweet tooth.  Dark chocolate of good quality is my favorite, but I won’t turn my nose up at a Hershey or Snickers bar.  I stock up on mini-bars after Halloween, and they usually last until Valentines, when I can stock up again.  Then sadly all the good candy holidays are over until Halloween again. 

10. Scents.  Imagine life without being to smell.  You could eat an onion and it would taste the same as an apple or a raw potato.  Scents are amazing at bringing back strong memories.  Diesel from a bus reminds me of drum corps days, certain hair sprays remind me of high school (80’s big hair!!), a whiff of a small baby brings back all those new mother memories, and fresh mown alfalfa brings back my childhood on the farm.

If you’d like to play, drop me a line and I’ll assign you a letter!

Well, it seems that I’ve skipped the yarn update and went straight to the break to get my year end stuff caught up!!  Last week was the amazingly cold weather, so no school Wed-Friday, not to mention too dreary to take pictures.  I’ve also still been quite busy with scarves!  Here are a couple of them…..

I’m happy to announce that Tiger Twist, my super bouncy smooshy sock yarn, is here in larger skeins….a full 4 oz, and running 400-420 yards.  I’m so excited to get going on those.  I have four pairs of socks made with Tiger Twist, and they are amazing.  I’ll have other news coming up soon in the newsletter, so do sign up for that if you want to be ‘in the know’ first.

Here’s a glimpse of my new fiber toy.  I’ve been much too busy to play on it as much as I would like….but I’ll be sure to get a full blog post up once I’m all up to speed.

And finally, I’ve been waxing nostalgic.  The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps was chosen to march in the inaugural parade.  They allowed alumni to fill out the corps proper, and I ‘coulda been there’.  Nevermind that I hate cold and marching in parades (I have a knee that doesn’t much care for pavement.)  At least 10 of my former corps mates went, and I’ve been enjoying seeing their pictures and such on Facebook and the local newscasts.  Here’s me, the final time I wore my uniform.  It was 1993, and I was 21 (you ‘age-out’ of corps at that age).  We, the Colts, had made the Top 12 Finals for the first time EVER.  I’d marched for 5 years, and let’s just say I bled Colts red….it was very emotional to remove the uniform, and I put it off long enough to get the picture taken. 

The blue thing is the medal we won for being in the Top 12, and the roses were from a friend who honored all the female age-outs.  The horn is my Mellophone.  Yeah, I’m a trumpet player, but I was convinced to head up the mello section, and was glad I did….I didn’t have the chops nor ego to be a screaming lead Soprano (what we call trumpets in corps), but had a really great time building the mello section into the kick butt section we were (can we say counter-melody awesomeness?).

Anyway, congrats to the Colts on a fine performance, and enduring the long days and cold temps.  The whole thing brought a smile to my face.

Hey you, wanna get some yarn at a great discount???

Pop on over to ThePaintedTiger, where I’m having a year end clearance sale.  Plus, take advantage of flat $5 shipping.  It all ends January 1.  I’d rather sell it than count it!!

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you Holidays have been great so far!