Dye Day Revisted

Several of the dye day participants brought their yarn to the guild meeting tonight. It is always amazing to see the difference drying makes.


Nova used Raspberry, Deep Pink and Desert Rose for her handpaint.

Millie used Terra Cotta, Slate and Deep Violet for hers.

Eliza used Turquoise, Turkey Red and Pumpkin.
I finally blocked the Summit Shawl. Only in blocking does it show its' true beauty. I've been showing it off today but the pictures will have to wait until mom returns from Las Vegas.


I was seriously considering not making the other two that I bought the yarn for but the red silk will be the next in line.

I am almost finished with the front of the Circles and Butterflies sweater. I am having fun with this project and loving the results. I can't wait to dive into the stash for the next design. I'm finally going to be able to use some of the yarn that I couldn't find the right pattern to knit. Next I'm going to have to devote some serious time to the Master Knitting program.

Finally Success

After three times I've finally got my sweater gauge right. I'm using size 6 needles and even though it is more open I like this gauge a lot better. I'll need to either make or dye a camisole to wear under it.


Even though this process has been trying I'm still enjoying it. The successes more than make up for the failures.

When I was preparing for the dye day I purchased a Yarn Meter from Nancy's Knit Knacks. It is attached to optional tensioning unit because I ordered the Yarn Meter Plus.


One of the yarns I needed didn't come skeined so I had to measure skeins for one of my dyers. Since I have quite a bit of yarn on cones it has turned out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made knitting wise. I plan on dyeing yarn for two large projects in the future and I've already measured the skeins for them.

Millie a friend, guild member and dye day participant bought her dyed skeins to our monthly dinner gathering. I was gobsmacked at how different and beautiful everything was once they dried. Her handpaint is gorgeous as are the immersions. One technique that I thought didn't work was successful and the results can be seen once the yarn dries. We are definitely in for a treat on Tuesday.

Dye Day

Today I conducted a dyeing workshop for my guild the Palmetto Purlers. Alas, I don't have any pictures to share. I was busy mixing and preparing dye baths and rinsing yarn that I didn't even think about it until I sat down this evening.

We did two types of immersion dyeing and handpainting. I have some really talented ladies in my guild who came up with some amazing combinations. I will try to get pictures at the next meeting.

I'd like to say thanks to Eliza, Gail, Kellie, Janie, Joan, Millie, Nova, my mom Betty, who picked up lunch, helped out and stepped in to finish Gail's last skein, and my sister Stephanie, who helped set up for a wonderful day. You girls are the best!!!

Shawl Fever

My Charlotte's Web Shawl is blocking...


I have Summit on the needles ...


and my Aeolian is in temporary hibernation. It seems that I'm hung up on shawls for the time being. I've made two already this year. I love the look of shawls and they are perfect for my office which is always too cold. When I wear one I find that I don't have to run the heater as much.

I made another visit to my favorite online store Webs. I've had the "Best of Lopi for several years so I finally broke down and bought the Lopi to make the sweaters I marked when I first got the book while it is still on sale. Some of this is backordered so I'm not sure if they will hold it or ship. I had to call them today and replace one of the colors since it had been discontinued. These sweaters are part of my plan to start my cold weather knitting now.

Basketball is over but one of my favorite shows is back on tv. I love the Top Chef series and once again it is the masters. It's been over a month since I watched my regular shows which has resulted in a total disruption of my viewing schedule. I was glued to ESPN or CBS with an occasional foray to the SYFY chanel (hate that name).

I'm trying to organize a dye day for the guild. I sent out a survey yesterday so I'm waiting to see how many responses I get. This will be the first time that I've done something like this so I'm trying to make sure that I cover all of the bases. It won't be anytime soon because everything is covered in green pollen. Because we haven't had any rain it is horrendous. I don't recall it ever being this bad. Hopefully the rain that they are predicting will come through.

Time to go rest the shoulder and neck. It's been acting up again so I have to treat it with a little extra tlc.