Yet another pair

of basketweave socks.  I knit this pattern over and over.  Why?  It's pretty no matter the yarn; it's mindless, but not boring; it fits; it's great TV watching stuff.

Cannot remember whose yarn it is, but I bought the yarn at Woolbearer's in Mt. Holly, NJ.

Here's a closeup of the leg.  Is this not a cute, mindless, adorable pattern?

Socks!

I'm out of the Sock Madness competition, but it's fine with me.  There are times when you know that knitting a particular pattern will destroy your cranky hands and round 5 was the case.  So, not competing, but boy, am I knitting socks.  I'm happily designing and knitting away.  That's what happens to me after Sock Madness:  I want to design and make socks.  And of course, these will fit my small, narrow foot.  But it's the Madness that inspires me to get off my tush with my boring, same-pattern, basketweave socks and make something new.  So here's what's done.

This one is called Undulate because of the way the fake cables move left and right.  Yarn is KnitPicks Stroll (I think it might be an old yarn because I can't find it on their website).  Size 2.25mm needles.

This one is On the Wing because I sort of see flying geese on the front and back of the leg and little winged bugs on the side.  I have a good imagination.  Yarn is PennyRose Rachel, which I dyed.  100% superwash merino/ 100g/400 yards.  Size 2.25 needles.

I dyed and sold yarn for about 6 years and then retired from that a couple of years ago.  Still have a nice supply of yarn, so I can dye just about all my sock yarn if I wish.

Sock Madness Forever

Are you on Ravelry?  Are you a sock knitter?  Are you participating in this year's Sock Madness Forever craziness?

It's beginning!  All that crazy, hilarious fun the takes place during March Madness.  This is one of THE best forums on Ravelry.  The nicest people, the funniest comments.  No drama!  Just wild and wonderful sock patterns and people knitting their little fingers off to see who can win this madness.  The Norwegians and the Dutch seem to be the fastest, but we Americans and Canadians can hold our own.

I cannot do it.  My very cranky wrists won't allow that kind of speed knitting.  I did try, but was afraid I would injure myself, and that crazy I'm not.  Close, but not there.  So, I hang out in the treehouse and wave my pompoms and cheer.  That's as much fun as the zippy knitting.

AND, I dye yarn.  For the last few years, I've been dyeing 3 colorways for the group.  I offer a terrific price for the yarn, and keep shipping as low as possible.  First Class Shipping is very affordable, so if you take my price and add in the shipping, you will still get a price comparable or often less than a retail store.

BUT, you have to be a member of SM Forever to get that price. 

Here are this year's colorways.  The mods have picked two flowers, Columbine and Scilla, and I've done a combo for variegated yarn lovers.  The yarn is, of course, Penny yarn.  450+ yards, 75/25 superwash merino/nylon, glorious yarn to knit with.  Machine wash if you will; I hang my socks to dry.

In order:  Columbine, Scilla, and Bouquet.

Interested?  Go join Ravelry, if you are not already a member.  Join the Sock Madness Forever Forum.  Decide on what you want, and you can order more than one skein of course.  Visit my Etsy shop, and buy whatever you wish.

There are a lot of other sock and lace yarns on sale, so have a good time.

SM8 yarns are dyed to order, so that I don't end up with too many of one colorway and too few of another.  Please relax and know that you won't be getting your yarn immediately since I have to dye up.  I've been doing this for a few years and have my routine established, and it works out very well.

Hot New Rachel Colorways

I love my Rachel yarn!  It's a tightly twisted two-ply yarn which has wonderful stitch definition.  100% superwash merino, it makes cosy socks and pretty scarves and shawlettes.  400 yards of toasty wooliness!  Delicious!

In order:  Dawn, Haze, Hot Shot, and Spring Fling.  I couldn't help the Spring Fling colorway; yes, it's the beginning of winter, but I am ready for spring. 

Where?  In my Etsy shop, of course.

Heigh Ho, heigh ho, it's off to dye I go.

OK, it's off to dye I went.  Yesterday.  I had a yen to dye up some pretty colorways.

Top row, the first two and the second from the right are all Heather Yarn, a lovely yarn that dyes 2 values at the same time.  How?  A couple of the plies are in non-superwash wool, and the other ply is superwash.  Superwash takes up dye immediately, the regular wool take a lot longer to take the color, so you get a barber-pole effect.  However, it knits up as a marled yarn.  Very interesting and complex.  Fingering weight, no nylon, and perfect for scarves and such.  You can make socks, but you'll have to hand wash them in cold water.

420 yards of fingering weight yarn that's lofty and lovely to knit or crochet with.

Here they are:  Orangeade, Jenny, and Candy. 

This next batch are Rachel yarns.  100% SW (superwash) merino with a neat little twist that really shows off your stitches.  400 yards of delicious woolliness.

Clown, Grete, Lemon, Parrot, Tropical Fish., Vermillion, and Wood Grain

  

Where?

http://fritzl.etsy.com

End of Year Sale!

Ta da!

It's the PennyRose Yarns End of Year Sale!  Amazing prices with everything reduced.  Yarns that were previously on sale, are now further reduced!

http://fritzl.etsy.com

Go forth and buy yarn!  I need to make space to dye up more goodies.  

 

Sale ends Dec. 31, 2012

Bambi Rules

Two more pretty skeins in my Etsy shop!

Sweet Violet

and Golden Forest

Interesting, no?

Two yarns from the same dyes, one dyed with all the colors at full capacity, and the other dyed with the leftover solution from the first dyeing.  Isn't it interesting to see how different they are?

Chocolate and Cranberries

Ashes of Roses

PennyRose Penny yarn:  450+ yards, 75% superwash merino/25% nylon
Available here:

http://fritzl.etsy.com

A new block

Here is my Rose Block.  It's an EPP block.  My points are not perfect but then I'm not perfect, so we get along just fine.  I have enough material to make more blocks, so I think I'll expand it.  Right now it's a 12" square.

Yarn News:  The Blues, a PennyRose Penny yarn.  75% superwash merino/25% nylon.  450+ yards

Blues, teals, and (what you can't see) a bit of purply blue tossed in.  Most of the hues are of the same value, with a little lighter values here and there.  It would make splendid socks, as well as shawlettes, baby gear, whatever you like for fingering weight.
As with most of my yarns, this is a one-of-a-kind colorway.  That's how I like to dye.
$21.00

Where?  http://fritzl.etsy.com

Ah ha!  The Blues just sold!

One-skein Crochet Scarf

Pinks Ripple Scarf

Sometimes you don't want to do an entire afghan or blankie when you crochet. It takes forever, you need lots of yarn, you like to actually finish a project in less than 6 months. Whatever the reason, one of the nicest ways to play with crochet is to make a one-skein crochet scarf. I make mine with a skein of sock yarn. I use a larger hook than usual so that the scarf drapes and is not a solid piece of work. You can figure out what size hook to use while you are learning the pattern. Easy peasy, and then you too can get "hooked" on crochet scarves.

This scarf is a basic ripple pattern. I wrote it up on a previous post, but now I've included some pics of the dc2tog stitch. Try it out the next time you have a pretty skein and just want to do something different other than socks.





Here are instructions again for how to do this pattern. Once you get the hang of the dc2tog, it's mindlessly easy and pleasant to do.

I'm using this very basic crochet pattern also in my Linus Blankie project, and that's where I've done my photography.

Here's how you do the standard ripple pattern:

1. Chain a multiple of 12 + 3. If you crochet tightly, go up a hook size for that first row.

2. 1 DC into 4th chain from hook.
*1 DC into next of 3 chains, [DC 2tog] twice, 1 DC into each of next 3 chains, 2 DC into each of next 2 chains* Repeat from *, ending last repeat with 2 DC into last ch. Turn.

3. Ch 3, 1 DC into same st. * 1 DC into each of next 3 DC, [DC 2tog]twice, 1 DC into each of next 3 DC, 2 DC into each of next 2 DC*. Repeat from *, ending last repeat with 2 DC into either the ch 3 loop or into the third ch of that loop. Turn.

That's the entire pattern. I have to admit that I do cheat and do that last 2 DC into the chain 3 loop from the previous row. I can't see that it makes any difference, at least in this pattern.

I used a skein of New Bambi with a size 4 hook, and I got a very drapey fabric. You don't want to construct a wall here; you want the thing to be a bit flow-y, so that it will drape around your neck. 3 or 4 repeats of the pattern will do it for a scarf.

Here's the blankie right after I've increased in the top 2 stitches: you just dc in each stitch twice.



Now here's the decrease:










In words: Begin the basic dc stitch, but don't complete it. You will have 2 sts on the hook. Then do another incomplete dc through the next stitch, you'll have 3 loops on the needle. yo, and pull through those 3 loops. Ta da: One stitch made out of 2 stitches. This is so much easier to do than to write. Play around with it, and you'll get it pretty quickly.

I hope that helps. I'm not a natural crocheter; knitting comes so easily to me, but I have to work hard at crochet. Once I get it, though, it's so pleasant to do. I tend to frog a lot until it comes out right, but then I can happily motor along.

Yarn ideas for this very basic ripple pattern: worsted wt. yarn with a large hook will make a chunky scarf. DK will obviously be less bulky. I love fingering or sock yarn because the scarf can be tied or draped or whatever, and since I'm a small person, I don't look ridiculous in it.

Crochet uses up considerably more yarn than knitting, but you can make a scarf out of 350-400 yards easily. I use a size 4 hook because I want drape. If you find that you have a board rather than a lovely piece of fabric, go up a hook size or 2.

If you use variegated yarn, as I'm very fond of, play around with it. Sometimes it is just too much variation for the pattern, other times it takes on a water color feel to it. And if you don't like it, frog it, and make socks. You really can't go wrong here.

More crochet scarf patterns coming up as I go along. And no, I haven't stopped knitting, just this is brainless work, and you know that I like mindless repetition with a bit of interest. The interest in this scarf is that dc2tog: I just love doing it!

Scrabblequeen - I'm glad you can figure it out. Crochet is always a learning experience for me even though I've been doing it a lot longer than knitting.

The Yarnarian Loves Cups and Mugs

I collect demitasse cups and saucers, and I adore my mugs. So this week when I was looking for some dyeing ideas, I decided to use a few of my favorites for some inspiration. Most of these cups and mugs have lots of white, and I dyed up BFL, which has a definite cream base. So I decided to ignore the white and concentrate on the other colors. All these sock yarns are my new Linda yarn, BFL/nylon 80/20. Unbelievably soft and hard-wearing. My British customers tell me that BFL is very strong, much better in fact for socks than merino. I know that my merino wears well. I haven't yet worn the BFL socks I'm knitting. Who wears woolly socks in this kind of heat. Yes, I know that wool wicks, but give me sandals in 90+ deg. summer days. And anyhow, I have 1.25 socks finished. So that takes care of that. At any rate, here they are.

Italian Demitasse Cup and Dainty Demitasse Cup:




Japanese Mug & Floral Cup:




Pottery Mug and Oriental Mug:




And, because I'm looking for a yarn for a pretty shawl for me, I also dyed up 2 skeins of Judith fingering wt yarn, merino/cashmere/silk, NOT superwash. Yes, if you want, I will graciously give them up for you. Hey, I know the dyer; she can always do another for me.

Tigerlily & Azure:




Off for a color job at the hairdresser. I'm sort of striped reddish brown and gray and white. I look very silly at the moment. Maybe I should do it this way intentionally. My sister is coming for a visit today. We'll do girly girl things for a few days. Fun for us!

Family crises are slowly abating. Some have been resolved, some are in process, and one is unfortunately the way it is. So it goes. We're all pretty relaxed at this stage, and chugging along as always. Thanks for your support and kind words; You know I appreciate it.

Floral Cup is taken. Smart Shark. No, not the usual Shark, a new Shark! giggle