A House Full Of Fiber

I finally got some good acid dyes.  I've only ever used the basics... egg dyes, kool aid, etc.  I now have 10 colors of Jacquard Acid Dyes.  They are soooo amazing to work with.  I purchased about 5 lbs of fiber from the Sheep Shed and went to town dyeing.  The house smelled like wet dog/sheep for a few days, but in the end I got some lovely dyed fibers.  Some of which are for sale in my Etsy Store and some I've been busy spinning up.  Don't forget to use that code I posted a few days ago for a 10% discount!  ATU42

Here's what parts of my house looked like.... a soggy wet mess.  I can't wait for the weather to be good enough to hang thing outside to dry in the sun.

 I made some mini skeins and dyed them in the base colors that I have so I can have swatches.  I also mixed some colors and made samples for those too.  I ended up knitting those little samples up into squares for reference later.

Past 6 Months Of Knitting

I've done a ton of knitting over the past 6 months or so.  I did a lot for Christmas and some just because.  Click on the links under each project to be taken to my Ralvery page with more details.

First up is my darling daughter in her matching 3 piece set.  The little sweater was made with the Juliet pattern.  Super cute pattern and very fast and easy knit.  She'll be able to wear this one for a while.  The gloves are Constellation gloves that I altered to fit her and the hat is a Kittyville hat.  She loves all the pieces and has worn them a lot.  The gloves and hat were Christmas gifts.  Also... the yarn was found in a rummage sale by my mom.  $5.00 for 10 skeins of yarn!!!!  I still have 4 skeins left I think.

This beauty is called the Rainbow Casu Cowl.  I loved this pattern and the yarn was great to work with.  It knit up fast and is soft and squooshy!

 The Meret Beret was new to me.  I don't usually knit beret's.  Next time I'll knit the band on much smaller needles as it's a bit big.  I need to use some bobby pins to get it to stay on nice.  But, the yarn is soft and I've worn it a few times.

 Jane.... The man they call Jane.... Come on... you know you want to sing it out loud!  This little cutie was a Christmas gift to my Firefly loving sister in law.  She loved it.  Wanted to wear it as a hat... hehe.  I was actually planning on making it a hat, but I just didn't have enough yarn.  She loves tea so this is perfect for her.  I almost kept it for me I loved it so much!

 Fingerless gloves for my mom.  Finally!  She's wanted a pair forever, but I've never found the right yarn as she is alergic to wool.  When I saw this yarn, I knew it had to be gloves for her.  I made them long in the fingers so she can fold the cuff down or keep it up and tuck her fingers inside when it's really cold.  She got these as part of her Christmas gift and loved them.

Gradient Mitts knit up for my MIL's birthday.  It's my handspun.  I've been hoarding this yarn for years.  It's always been one of my favorites.  It was always destined to belong to my MIL, I just didn't know what to make until I saw this pattern.  These are photographed on my daughter... they fit my MIL much better.

Another gift for my mom this last Christmas were these Beachy Broadripple socks. I love love loved knitting these.  I'm going to be getting more of this yarn so I can make a pair for myself.  They are super cozy on the foot and the pattern is really pretty and easy.  She loved these too.

 

These Vanilla Latte socks were finished just this last month.  They flew off my needles.  I really love this yarn.  They were supposed to be for me, but they ended up being way to big.  They fit my hubby great, so they are his now.  These were my first toe up socks.  I love making socks this way and will be doing most of my sock knitting toe up from now on.  I got to use up all my yarn!

Spinning Adventures

I've been busy spinning the past few months.  Sewing has been on the back burner since Christmas.  I still have to post photos from the holidays.... maybe later this week.  After Christmas I received a jumbo fly wheel for my spinning wheel.  I can't believe what a difference it has made.  Those large bobbins can hold soooo much more fiber and I've had no problems with bulky and funky yarns.  I'm just loving it.  Below are some of my handspuns so far this year.  Some have already been knit up or are in the process of becoming something.  The rest are either sold or currently in my Etsy shop.  I'm offering a 10% discount to any of my readers in my shop.  Just use the code ATU42 when checking out!