The Decorator Crab

Hand painting party

Over the weekend I went to the house of a fellow member of the Corvallis Ravelers for a fiber fun day. We hand painted yarn and fiber, and did some kettle dyeing. I had such a blast! I have done some dyeing of sock yarn, both in jars on the stove and in the microwave, but had never tried to dye roving (commercial top) before.

Lucky for me, one of our members brought bins and bins of supplies for dyeing, and she shared it with the rest of us noobs. I started with 8 ounces of superwash merino top from Crown Mountain Farms and two colors of Jacquard Acid Dyes: Chestnut and Golden Ochre. Here are some photos for you:

Here I am squirting dye into the pot (photo by Brandy):

First, a little bit of Chestnut:

 

Then, heaps of Golden Ochre!

The fiber, now looking a bit sad, hangs to dry.

After a stint in the dryer (sitting on the shoe drying rack insert), the merino fluffed back to life. Love it!

Extreme merino closeup:

 

I put all of the photos from the day on my Flickr account. See them here. Thanks again to Amy (MsAnchovy) and Donna (BonneTerreFiber) for your generosity!

P.S. to my lady Skylar - I owe you an E-mail! Will catch up with you soon!!

*Tap tap tap* Is this thing on?

Hmphf - it's been a while since I've blogged (understatement). I guess that life got busy (but it always has been) or that I prioritized other things before blogging (more likely). I started blogging as a way to find a place in the knitting community, back when I was a new knitter, when I didn't have any knitting friends to share the journey with. Since moving back to Corvallis two years ago, I have found an abundant, thriving knitting and spinning community, so blogging has gone by the wayside.

I used to be pretty strict about restricting my blogging to knitting and crafting content. Given the recent frequency of posting (uhm, ZERO per month), I think it makes sense to expand the scope of the blog. Life provides a lot more fodder for conversation when taken as a whole, and knitting may actually be the least entertaining thing that I do. Not that I am particularly entertaining, because I am fairly average and boring. But. There is still the blog.

I haven't fleshed this out completely, but I may try to post random tidbits a few times a week, just to feel out the idea of blogging about whatever mood or topic strikes. I make no promises about keeping up - I still travel too much and am in the midst of canning season (i.e. There Goes Your Weekend What With All of The Canning of Goods). So, whatever, we'll see how it goes.

The Crafty Crab isn't dead just yet!

I can't stand posts without photos. Here's my "new" (purchased in May) spinning wheel, before I finished it with Pure Tung Oil. It's a Louet S75DT, and came with a free skein winder as a part of the Louet 35th Anniversary special.

I saved up for months to buy it, and I Really Really Really LOVE IT.

Here is my new Ravelry Ravatar:

I use the Official Seal Generator to make my seals - it's totally fun.

And, to boost my non-craft content, here is a great photo of Johnny, our beloved and hysterical Chihuahua, taken by Erin Kate (a totally fantastic, amazingly talented photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah):

ETA: I have updated my web page (relatively recently), and I also contribute to posts the Oregon State University Glider Research Group Blog. These links fall in line with my inclination to expand content here.

Casting On: Amanda Jacket

In addition to certain ongoing projects, I have started my first sweater. I'm now knitting the Amanda Jacket (Ravelry) from A Fine Fleece, in Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed. Here are a couple of photos that I took from pages in the book.

and a close-up:

I love cardigans - I wear them all the time. Here is my swatch for the project:

My gauge was off prior to blocking, but after a warm soak the yarn bloomed a bit and my gauge is now bang on (suh-weet!). I'll be casting on for the 40" bust size, which will give me 5" of ease at the bust and 2" of ease at the hips (there is no shaping in the body of the cardigan). I think this sweater is meant to be somewhat boxy and "comfortable" looking, certainly not tight, so I am sticking with the "boyfriend sweater" MO. BTW - Lola is fully responsible for my desire to knit this cardigan. Lola's version turned out so well, still the best of the ones I've seen on Ravelry and beyond.

One last thing: for those who are impatient about drying swatches, I employed a new drying technique at the vacation cabin that we rented this past weekend:

That thing was dry in no time!

Ease on down the road.

So, I'm going to put up this here post as though it hasn't been FIVE MONTHS since I last blogged. Nothing out of the ordinary to see here folks, just a regular post.

Here we have my most recent FO, the Just Like a Peasant Cap (pdf) by Amber Daniels (Ravelry).

Yarn: Valley Yarns Williamstown, color 09, three skeins.
Needles: Inox circulars, size 10.5
Size: One Size
Notes: This is a fun, quick project and produces a jaunty little cap. The yarn is held doubled, so this really does knit up quickly. I loved the yarn, which I used for the first time in this project. I found it on WEBS for $4.99 a ball - a smoking deal! Here are some more photos, and then the notes from my Ravelry Project Page.

   

More notes:

I knitted the body of the hat flat for a couple of inches so that it would open a bit in the back and give the ties some room to move around. Then I joined and worked in the round until the piece measured 8” to the hem (not including the brim), and started evenly decreasing with K2TOG in 8 sections, every row until there were 8 stitches left.

For the strap, I slipped the first stitch of every row purlwise with the yarn in front, which left a very nice edge for sewing. I sewed the strap/tie thing on to the top of the brim ad around the edge of the hat to the back.

Tour de Fleece Round-up Post

I am blogging at work (bad!), so I have to keep this short.  Here are a couple of photos of my Tour de Fleece efforts (we do not speak of the earlier efforts at plying ugly yarn in this post). Along with BFL Monkey Farts, I give you Corriedale "Vacation to Canada."

And, a class photo with everyone together:

Why yes, I am rather pleased with all of it! More details to come when I am not on the clock...

I love Monkey Farts!

Fiber: Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) in "Monkey Farts" from Spunky Eclectic. 4 oz. Ravel It.

Technique: Spun using a long draw on my Ashford Traditional, only flyer ratio is 7:1.

Result: Two ply, about DK weight? Haven't done the WPI yet.

Notes: I split the roving in half long ways (down the whole length of fiber), and used my birthday present to check that the weights were even. For the first single, I pre-drafted the split roving as-is, but found that it was a bit too much to work with. For the second single, I split the roving again (now working with 1/4 of the original roving), and found that much easier to pre-draft evenly (I first discussed this a few posts ago. See there for a photo of the pre-drafted fiber). I let the singles sit on the bobbins for a few days to relax (while I was producing fugly yarn!), and plied it up as usual (lots of twist, treadling like mad!). The plied fiber was quite twisty, but a good soak and rough smack on the counter produced an even, balanced 2-ply after drying. I love this yarn, and have already moved on to another Spunky colorway, this time in Corridale fiber. Loving it!

When life gives you lemons, navajo ply them.

Recall from yesterday that I was in the midst of plying what I deemed to be the "ugliest yarn known to man." Well. It might not be The Ugliest, but it's still pretty fugly. Observe:

and

Uummm....no. When I finished 3-plying up this disaster, I had some singles left on two bobbins. It seemed that the only way to rescue this bad situation was to use it as a learning experience. Given the truly abominable color combination of the 3-ply, finishing the remaining yarn as 2-ply wasn't a suitable option. After getting some inspiration from the Ravelry Tour de Fleece folks (who pointed me toward an excellent video), and from the Yarn Harlot, I decided that I would use the remaining singles to teach myself how to navajo ply. This plying technique preserves color runs and produces a striped affect along the length of the yarn. I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a shot. Here is what I ended up with:


While the colors still aren't my favorite, alone they are less hideous than mixed together. A fine lesson, indeed, so the effort wasn't a total loss. Now, what to do with the yarn? Burn it in a ceremony to the Yarn Fates?

Drop by tomorrow for photos of BFL Monkey Farts! The skein is having a good soak now, and will be ready for it's blog debut by tomorrow morning. I'll tell you in advance that it's vastly more beautiful than the freakshow that I produced today. Then again, it would almost have to be...

Uhhhh....wow.

Okay, so apparently today is the day that I post eleventeen million times (Or two times. Whatever). I had to pause from plying for a moment and post because I am currently producing the ugliest yarn known to man. I'm not fishing for compliments here - this stuff is FUGLY. Quite a learning experience though, one of those times when you just have to laugh, keep going, and get past it. I have been working on finishing three bobbins of this wonderful roving on and off for a while now. I had grand plans about three plies of various colors blending harmoniously and changing with each other. It turns out that reality is not as beautiful as my fantasy (as per usual).

After resting for a bit, today was The Day To Ply. I started plying. I was am not pleased. Maybe it will look better as a finished skein?  Not likely! I am sorry Copperpot Woolies, it is totally my fault, not yours. I promise to do better next time...

OMG WTF?!?! I am dying from the ugliness!!

vomits

But maybe it was at least a good idea to try a 3-ply? Sigh.

Your Daily Zen, Courtesy of the Alpacas

We had Sunday brunch out at a local farm a couple of weeks ago. The farm is located directly across the street from Oregon Alpaca Farm, which is home to many (50+?) alpacas. Naturally, we took a walk across the street after brunch and fed the alpacas some pellets. Here is your daily zen...

The Tour de Fleece Catch Up Post

Not that you would know it from the blog, but I have joined in on the Tour de Fleece this year for the first time. I am participating on two fronts: at the Tour de Fleece web page, and in the Tour de Fleece Ravelry Group. It's a bit confusing that these two are different, but I figured that I might as well cover my bases and join two parties.

My goal for this year's TdF, my first, is very simple - spin every day, even if it's just a little bit. In the lead-up to finishing my degree, I wasn't able to spin for several weeks. I got out of practice, and built up a decent fiber stash as a result. I want to use the TdF as motivation to get through a bit of the stash and to get back into the rhythm of spinning on a regular basis. So far, it's going well. We had family in town and went out to the coast for a few days, but I managed to fit the spinning wheel into the Subaru and got some spinning done while we were out there. Yes! I do admit to missing a couple of nights so far, but also got in a couple of longer sessions to make up for it.

So, let's get on to the goods! My first project was spinning the third bobbin of my Copperpot Woolies merino/colonial (Rav link; 4.3 oz batt). I am letting the last bobbin rest before I ply it, but I'm also stalling a little because it will be my first 3-ply attempt. Wish me luck!

I joined the Monkey Farts TdF team on Ravelry, for people who are spinning Spunky Eclectic fibers, so I figured that I ought to tackle some Spunky fiber next. What follows is the first half of a 4 ounce braid of BFL roving in coloway Monkey Farts (of course!).

I intended to produce a 2-ply yarn this time around, so I split the roving lengthwise and pre-drafted the first half. Here is how it looked.

I had a little trouble producing a consistent strand with the BFL at first, but I adjusted my hold on the fiber a little and found that things moved along much better. This is my first experience at having to adjust my technique to suit the fiber (I haven't tried very many fibers yet), and I really enjoyed the challenge and learning experience.

I also really got a kick out of seeing how the colors in the roving were transformed as I spun it up. I am still a new spinner, but I don't think that this transformation will ever cease to  amuse me. It's what spinning is all about!

My next move is to spin the second ply, ply the two together, and move on to the next colorway. After a minor fiber stash enhancement "incident" in Portland on Saturday, I am going to have a difficult time choosing between another Spunky BFL color and my new "Happiest Girl" one off color "Let's See What Happens." Stay tuned for results!

ETA: here are some photos for Joy (blueknits on Ravelry), who wanted to show the pegboard to her husband. Curt made it for me, and I absolutely love it. It's a great way to keep the craft room organized. Sorry for the dark photos - I took these during winter on the north side of the house.

Here's a photo of the frame that the board is mounted on. The 1" x 2" furring strips are mounted to the studs, and the pegboard is mounted to the furring. Easy!