This is Spencer, our intrepid photographer. He’s getting all his lights set up in my kitchen so we can photograph a special dyeing tutorial for our June catalog. We were very fortunate to have an overcast day so we didn’t have to deal with bright sunlight coming in the kitchen window.
This is Alison, who has outlined every photo we need to take to go with the step-by-step instructions she’s written. The only free space in the whole kitchen for her to take notes was between the burners (don’t worry – they weren’t on at this point!) on the stove.
Hard at work. Honestly, tutorial photography days are really fun! What I like best is the “behind the scenes” look of all the piles of supplies and things that are just outside the …
Search Results for: dye yarn
I love watching NASCAR races. I was trying to remember how this came to be, and I think it stems from going with my family to Champ car qualifying days at Portland International Raceway when we could get free passes. My Dad and brother absolutely loved going, and Mom and I would tag along and sit under the makeshift lean-to awning and read – back when they would let you camp out for the day on the grassy banks around the track. There’s something about the sound and the excitement and unpredictability. What I like even better about stock car racing is that they smash into each other and into the walls and yet, many times, THEY STILL KEEP GOING, albeit with sheet metal flapping. Repairs are attempted with baseball bats and …
or
How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Flat Pattern Construction by Modifying It
I have a confession to make: I’ve never knit a sweater flat. The first sleeveless top that I made was in the round, and ever since I’ve never seen a compelling reason not to knit all of my sweaters that way. Oh, I certainly knit certain parts flat and sew them together, but with every sweater I’ve made there’s always been an “in the round” component (whether it was written into the pattern or not). I see the benefits of circular construction to be numerous: For one, seeing it in “body form” helps me visualize if it looks the right size, and if I still have doubts, I can try it on. For two, I personally hate knitting flat. It’s not that I dislike purling, it’s all the turning back and forth. It breaks my rhythm, and I …
(lovely photos courtesy of Alison – thank you!)
Yarn: Bare Essential (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon)
Dye: Jacquard Acid Dyes Burnt Orange, Burgundy, Chestnut
Needles: 40″ nickel plated fixed circular, size 0
Pattern: my own – toe-up, standard heel flap, slip stitch heel and back ankle, knit until the yarn is gone. I’m working on writing the pattern up for our sock catalog in June/July. Anyone want to test knit for me?
Whew, they’re done! It was so nice to be able to show the finished product to my class. I started the class teaching both the two-socks-on-two-circs method and the magic loop method so the students could choose which way they wanted to knit. They are all very new knitters; most have only done a scarf or two. After a couple weeks of frustration, all the two-circ ladies switched to magic loop, …
If you want to snatch up a skein or two of our brand new Simply Cotton Heathers, but you’re not sure what you’d knit with them, may I suggest a cute and cuddly Cheezombie toy…or three?
Like Stacey, Cheezombie’s quirky IDP toy patterns make my heart go pitter pat, but the idea of dyeing my own organic Simply Cotton or using another yarn did not. So when samples of the new Simply Cotton Heathers showed up in Alison’s office a couple of weeks ago, I knew exactly what I wanted to knit first. Stacey and I were first in line to scoop up a skein or two of the worsted weight and take it for a test run.
Stacey knit another Weiner Dog in Mandarin Heather to add to her growing menagerie. She named him Santa’s Little Helper (any other Simpson’s fans out there?).
Alison …
Read more »
I have a lot of sock yarn – between working here, my dyer friends who have sock clubs, our local yarny festivals (not least of which included Sock Summit!) and my local yarn store that stocks lots of indie sock yarn dyers (also where IDP designers Starr & Alex work!), I can’t seem to stop getting my hands on it!
So when we received our new Stroll Tonal samples, I was in absolute heaven – even the fact I couldn’t buy them yet did not diminish my enthusiasm.
I can’t even choose a favorite. I want a rainbow of these socks!
We’ve started getting in our samples from designers for their new patterns in too – so I grabbed Kate & Sarah & had a little bit of fun!
We even wore matching jeans!
I think what I love most about this yarn is how fantastic it …
My Stonington shawl has been one of my Mindless Knitting projects. I usually only have a couple in progress with the rest of my WIPs being more intellectually stimulating.
Well, this weekend I finally finished my other simple project – the Angora Socks! Hurrah!!
I left you in suspense with my last blog entry and the analysis of what I thought was a small mathematical miscalculation.
I had to leave you in suspense because I was left speechless!!
It has taken a couple of days, and a scheduled dinner out with friends tonight, to shake me from my stupor. I have no viable mindless knitting! Yes, I could start something new but the Stonington Shawl “situation”, “mishap”, “disaster” ….. has completely knocked me out of the game. Seriously! It was a simple trapezoid but, NO, that was just too much for my math-challenging little mind. Suddenly …
Read more »A couple of weeks ago I spent a day gathering up my far-flung WIPs. I had bags in my library, in my knitting nook, in the living room, in the bedroom and in my office at work! Seeing everything piled up in one place was a bit daunting but, in the perverse attitude of a fiber freak, fantastically energizing.
Using Ravelry and my Knit Buddy iTouch app, I arranged everything into two categories. The ones that I felt I could get to at least once a week became WIPs. The others went into my Queue.
As I became reaquanted with my neglected WIPs, I slammed head first into the one rule that I just can’t seem to retain. Make REAL notes! Cryptic jottings do not qualifiy!!
My Stonington Shawl is a perfect example. Here is a reproduction of the notes I made on the Xerox copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s instructions.
There are some rules that even the owner of Knit Picks can’t break. In preparation for yarn launches, we always receive boxes in advance for knitting up photo samples for the catalog. These yarns are absolutely sacrosanct since everything has been allocated to sample knitters or the photography department.
Yeah, right! Imagine walking into a room filled with all sort of new yarns and/or new colors and not being able to immediately be able to sweep up an armful and head for the nearest comfortable chair – that is my torture. I like to believe that everyone else has a crutch to lean on because their jobs depend on the “proper” dispensation of the limited yarn supplies. But, I’m supposed to be knitting! That’s my job!
When I was finally able to get my hands on the lace yarns, I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. …
I finished it. If I wasn’t making it for my mom I would have never finished it. It was great travel knitting. It went with me to Austria, Germany, Italy, Yellowstone for New Years, and lots and lots of meetings at work.
The pattern is the Shoulder Shawl out of Victorian Lace Today. I used Shimmer Lace Weight Yarn in Sherry .
It has several errors. I had to fix no less than 5 dropped stitches once it was done. Luckily the hand dyed color hides errors and Alison helped me block it which really brought out its beauty.
I’m happy I finished it, but I can’t promise you’ll ever see me work with lace weight yarn again. I’m the one that likes to double strand WOTA Bulky. Now where did I leave that Twinkle book and my size 17 needles… …