Dyeing Semi-Solid & a New Project

Inspired by a tutorial video mentioned in an earlier entry, I decided to dye some semi-solid yarn. I started with cream/natural (I think they call it “aran”) Fishermen’s Wool.  Wound the whole skein onto the swift into a large hank and tied in a few places (as always).  Pre-soaked the yarn.  Heated a large stock […]

More on Nickel-Plated Needles

Yesterday, I read this Ravelry thread on nickel-plated needles.  (It’s good to know that other people have this problem, too.) So, it sounds like the thing to do for cloudiness (which apparently results in drag) is the following: 1. Polish with a microfiber cloth.  (Some suggest a jeweler’s cloth– usually for cleaning sterling silver jewelry.) […]

Drat My Bizarre, Metal-Eating Body Chemistry!

How’s that for a title?  ;o) I bought a set of interchangeable knitting needles from Tuesday Morning several months back.  (Just checked.  It’s been nearly a year.)  They are nickel-plated, Boye “Artisan” line.  I had some qualms about the nickel-plating, because I’ve had trouble in the past with nickel-plated embroidery needles.  (The nickel wears off.)  […]

“Catch a Wave” Doily

Here’s a recently finished object– something I’ve labeled my “Catch a Wave” doily. Janice (on her blog, Passion of Love) reverse engineered from a doily in her collection, explaining it to her readers as she went, as well as providing plenty of helpful photos.  (Thanks to Pammy Sue for sharing the link!) Janice worked her […]

Dyeing à la Microwave

Back as promised with details from the dyeing! Administer caffeine now, because this one’s a rambler… (Or, you know, skim and/or skip at will.) – – – – – – – The goal was to dye yarn with (what I believe are usually called) long color repeats. The key to long color repeats is to […]

Purposeful Dyeing

A couple of days ago, something reminded me of a scarf that I’ve admired for years– Moonstitches’ Rhubarb Scarf.  I’d like to make something similar.  The stitch itself seems simple enough.  It’s a version of the well-known “Catherine Wheel”.  What’s more, there’s now a free pattern inspired by the scarf, so you don’t have to […]

Mysteryghan Update!

Still keeping pace, though behind on the photos… This blog entry will catch me up, though. For last week’s clue– squaring the decagon– I was sure that I didn’t have enough of that particular peach left to finish the “medallion”, so I swapped to my new peach (ILTY brand).  I knew the two weren’t exactly […]