The Yarnarian and Darth Yarnarian

I had a visit the other day from a strange character, Darth Yarnarian. Seems like this odd evil person decided to invade my dyeing chamber (AKA the laundry room).



And then as I cried: Fie! Be gone Evil Darth Yarnarian, this evil apparition disappeared, only to reappear upstairs with my new scarf!



I waved my magic wand, a wooden spoon, and said the magic words: "ipsy bipsy", and lo and behold there was a flash of fire, a clash of symbols and a roll of thunder (hey, it was pouring outside), and Darth Yarnarian went back to her evil demesne.

BTW, this is my awesome new respirator mask. Scary no? I sound like Darth Chicken when I breathe in it!

Dyeing news: I bought this amazing new lace yarn with 80/10/10 merino/cashmere/silk and I dyed it yesterday.



It is so soft and wonderful. Not superwash as I've mentioned somewhere else, but who in holy hell washes lace in the washing machine. Not moi, that's for sure. 800 yards of yarny goodness. I don't know what it will be, nor am I ready to work on it, but I just couldn't resist dyeing it.

The color is one that I wear all spring and summer, and it will look gorgeous over the browns and deep greens that I wear in the cool weather. I might have been subconsciously influenced by this top:




I wasn't wearing that top when I dyed. My dyeing clothing deserves a post all of its own, but I wore it the day before.

And if you notice, I'm modeling Titania's Waltz scarf. Yes, I know, it clashes, but this is what I had on, the Hubbo was dragooned into taking a couple of pics, as he kvetched loudly, so you get what you get.

Titania is the correct spelling. She is not Russian as in Tatiana; she is Oberon's consort; a fairy queen, and she bosses Oberon around because we women need to boss mens around, even kingly guys.

Here are the main rules about bossing mens around: they have to kill bugs, take out the garbage, reach whatever you can't, move furniture, drive if you hate driving, and make you howl with laughter. Women are so perfect that we don't need rules. Ebil laugh here. Mwahahaha. This must be the effect of Darth Yarnarian!

Off to slay evil chickens, do the dishes, etc, etc.

Sockmadmary - I don't know yet what colors I'm going to dye the new yarn in. I might take suggestions from you all, and then dye up. No obligation, just me getting a feel from what the Great International Public wants (or want as you Brits say, which I don't get, but so it goes).

Ruth in Ottawa - It's symbolic of cymbals or symbols or symbolism or botulism or...

Carolyn - The hair color depends a. on the dye job of my beautician, and b, how long it has been since the hair was colored. The real hair is virtually white, and makes me look ancient.

Holly - I have a silver gray somewhere in my dye collection. I bet it would look lovely in this yarn. Now to find it......

Ria & Scrabblequeen - It's my inner glamour that you're seeing.

Skeppie - Unfortunately it is moi. I think the mask adds a certain elegance to my appearance.

Henya - Purples and lavendars and such are one of my favorite combinations. I don't know about your part of Brooklyn with the summer aroma, but I gotta tell you that wandering through Manhattan on a hot swealtering day and walking past a pile of garbage bags is one of the delights of civilization!

CathyR - I personally think that the mask is very flattering.

Olivia23 - Can't you just see me in that mask at the MOA! That would surely terrify everyone except for Miss P and the Hubbo!

The Yarnarian Likes to Tempt You.

Wicked woman that I am, here are a few more pretties for your pleasure. I seem to have been in a sea green dyeing moment, because I just looked at my stock, and there's a preponderance of those greens with blues. I didn't plan it; it just happened. However each one is different, so at least there's some variety here. And I'm not crazy enough to show them all; I don't want you to howl in the night that I was on a seafoam toot.

Water World and Summer Dream:




It's the berries:



See, that wasn't too bad. Summer Dreams is Bambi, It's the Berries is Alexa, and Water World is Rose. Don't even ask how I dyed up 3 different yarns without getting confused.

New yarn: I just got in 20 skeins of the most delicious lace yarn: merino/cashmere/silk. Over 800 yards of loveliness in a weight that's not skinny-minny like Zephyr but not as heavy as fingering. Not superwash, so you'll have to wash by hand, but since when would you put a lace shawl in the washer and dryer? I hope to start playing with it next week. Cost? Not sure yet. I'm guesstimating about $35-40, although the $40 seems a bit pricey for Miss Mingie here to charge. We'll see.

What do you have to look forward to besides yarn and more yarn: the 2 scarf patterns that I've been showing you. Fairy Leaf and Titania's Waltz. The Hubbo will do his PDF magic on them and I'll offer them at $5 apiece or together as a collection for $9. Maybe tomorrow on Ravelry and Monday on Etsy.




Holly - these are wonderful! I'm so tempted but which one?

Henya - Mwahahahaha! Evil laugh!

Caffeine Girl - The Hubbo just has to wave his magic wand!

The Yarnarian Experiments.

The Yarnthropology forum on Ravelry has been discussing the crazy love people have for Wollmeise yarn. I've never seen it in person, just pics. People love it; they hoard it, pay way too much money for it on eBay, fight over it. It's mishegoss (craziness) at it's worst. I keep telling folks that it's just yarn. Nope, they say, it's not; it's the most fabulous glowing yarn around. One of them even found an article someplace about how she actually gets those deep rich colors. So, me looking for a challenge, set out yesterday to do my version of her yarn. This is without seeing it live, or feeling it or knowing her base, the chemistry of her water, yada, yada. Hey, a girl's gotta try something new every now and then.

I'm happy to report that Wollmeise has nothing to worry about with my competition. I did have a grand time, and came up with 4 highly saturated skeins. I'm going to call them Ruthmeise. giggle. Apparently she dyes using the dyes in powder form, not in liquid form. This is very scary; those dyes in power form, are in very tiny particles, and you don't want to breathe them in or have your skin get in contact with them. So, armed with all my protective gear, this is what I produced. I'm sure I'll do this again, but not very often; the dyes are carcinogenic and I can live without that.

The first one is red and hot pink. Not WM's kind of colors, but I'm playing here.



Here come 2 oranges, and this is where WM's method begins to shine. You know I love orange in almost any form (it looks good on me), so I'm mighty pleased with these. You'll probably run shrieking into the night.

Pumpkin Pie and Burnt Sugar.




And I saved the best for last: this one used medium leaf green, turquoise, and Lilac (!). thinking pastel? Nope! I did 2 of these and I love them, and may just keep one for moi.

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Names of these babies are: Strawberry Jam, Pumpkin Pie, Burnt Sugar, and Midnight Lake. fritzL234 AT yahoo DOT com if you want. If you don't, that's ok too.

BTW, I have lots of yarn to list. I was on a dyeing frenzy on Fri and yesterday.

Knitting News: I blocked and photographed the little cashmere Scarf; its name is Titania's Waltz. I used one 400 yard skein of JoJoLand Cashmere, and had just about half leftover. This is beautiful yarn, and inexpensive too. It runs in the $27-28 range and is worth every penny. Can you imagine buying a hand-knitted lace Cashmere scarf for only $13-14? At first, knitting with it felt weird to me, but then I got used to it, and I am in love with it now. I'm thinking of reskeining the leftover yarn and dyeing it. What do I have to lose, anyhow?

Here she is: Titania's Waltz!




She's all charted and written up and I'll have the Hubbo pdf it and the Fairy Leaf Scarf together. Maybe do a package of $9 for the 2 of them or $5 apiece. Have to think about that.

Is that enough blather for the day?

Pumpkin Pie is spoken for. I have a slightly lighter and pinker version of Strawberry Jam available.

Ruth in Ottawa - I'm actually going to find out. I have a trade with someone who wants one of mine, and will give her Wollmeise. I have heard all the things you are saying about the yarn. At this point, i just want to know what the fuss is about. Intellectual curiosity, I guess.

KV - I felt like a lady in Afghanistan, covered up from head to toe. And now, it's not worth the chance using the dyes in powder form. I could, however, make up a very strong solution using my normal amt of powder and 1/2 the water. That would be lots safer.

CathyR - I love being an enabler! Have a great vacation!

Henya - I'm so very careful when I dye. I don't want to die from dyeing. Can't you just see me, a small Jewish lady, in a burka. Maybe not.

Holly - That sounds like a lot of fun. will have to try it out.

The Yarnarian Has Her Dyeing Mojo.

Yup although i feel it slipping away. Hm! Maybe I need to dig into my dyes and find some I haven't used in a while. That'll get me going.

I just finished up for today; they are happily cooking and will drip outside as long as it doesn't rain. I tried out a new technique for getting really vibrant colors. It works, but it just isn't me. I do love deep intense colors, but I'm much happier with the lighter end of the spectrum. Maybe that's why I love the Impressionists; all those gorgeous soft colors all mixed up. Monet, here I come.

Why the experiment? There is such a brouhaha over Wollmeise and I thought I'd try to do her types of colors. Forget it; She's the queen of deep and glorious color. I, on the other hand, can do pastels very well. So there, she pouts. That doesn't mean that I don't do those deep guys, but not often, so when you see them, grab them, because I won't do them again for a while. All this to say that I shall stay the Pastel Queen, as someone on the Ravelry Dyers' Forum called me. That's where I live and what I like to knit. I like to be able to see my stitches and patterns, and these show up best in lighter values.

Dyeing news: OK, so here's a sample of what I did on Friday. These are all Bambi. Bamboo is a wonderful fiber; it has lovely drape and doesn't take acid dyes, so a yarn with bamboo often has a heather look to it. I make socks, of course, and scarves out of Bambi, and you can also make mitts.

Here's a sampling. I'll be posting yarns much of the week, so keep tuned, and don't turn that radio dial.

Here are Dandy and Baby Love:




Georgie and Easy Living:




Knitting news: I finished the cashmere scarf and need a name for it. I have to sew in the ends; it's all blocked. And then I'll post a pic. Naturally I started yet another scarf. I found this great pattern in one of my Japanese books, changed it around and found it to be a true pita to knit. If I have to look at every single row to figure out what I'm doing, and I'm already on the second repeat, well, forget it. The pattern was nice, but not nice enough for all that work. So, instead I started a shawl done in 3 triangles. And this one is a winner. Yup, I do have to pay attention, but I'm not dealing with stitches that are not there, you know, the blanks on a pattern, and it's flowing just the way I like. Again, no pics. What, you want me to overload this already too-long post with more pics. Fie, I say, fie.

And just to whet your appetite, YarnYenta and I are doing a KAL on Ravelry. She's doing the pattern, and I'm dyeing the yarn. I'm waiting for her go-ahead to dye up. We have a fair-isle pattern here, and we want to make sure that I've dyed enough of the secondary color. Of course, you're on Ravelry, so you can ask DragonYady or SockPuppet for more details. These dear, dear friends are going to run it. All I have to do is dye and ship. Here are the yarn choices.

Color 1:



Color 2:



The smaller skeins are the ones we're concerned about. No custom orders here; there are limits to my craziness. But, if you prefer I can mix them up and do, for example, the emerald with the pink or the gold with the pink, or whatever iteration you want. But just these 4 colors. So go to Ravelry, message either of the 2 ladies, or check out either of these 2 forums, and as soon as I get the message on high from YarnYenta, then I'll dye up and ship out.

Cost? It depends on the length of yarn for that second color.

We're go on the KAL! So if you want to join, and want to buy yarn, email me with your choice. fritzL234 AT yahoo DOT com

Dandy, Baby Love and Easy Living are already spoken for. So that leaves Georgie if you want. email: fritzL234 AT yahoo DOT com

The Yarnarian Surfaces Again.

I've been busy dyeing up for the July Fiber Barista sock club, and now I'm finished with the dyeing part. Being a notorious procrastinator and also terrified that something could come between me and the dyeing, I did this early. I know me, unfortunately. Much to my surprise, the dyeing was very pleasant, and I learned that I can do a large lot (for me, not for my fellow Baristas) efficiently and enjoyably. Who knows what that will lead to.

I don't do wholesale because it is a lot of work, and hey, I am retired; I don't want to work that hard. BUT, I'd do it if a certain Loopy Ewe wanted me. It would feed my ego. However they don't, and my ego is just fine. Of course I've never even contacted them, so you can see that I'm on the fence here. Eh, it's much more fun doing this on a small basis.

Knitting news: working and working, and frogging, and working some more. One set of pics only, that of the little American Girl Doll skirt. I bought a pattern from Malfrid Gausel and it is so cute.
It's this one, Lilly. I started the skirt in an old Tofutsies yarn I had hanging around, and had to frog it because my gauge and the designer's gauge were not in sync. So, I redesigned it for me, and here is the final result.






I know, 4 pics of a doll skirt, but it is enchanting. What's next is a white little sweater with trim from the skirt. At this point, I'm on my own, I'm not using the original pattern at all.

Off to violet and purple and turquoise and yellow and rose and who knows what else.

itsJUSTme-wendy - Thanks. Do you know that at the end I had around 300 stitches?

KV - It's an adaption of a pattern and I think I'm be violating copyright to sell it, but isn't it adorable?

Henya - Clearly we are on the same wave length. She looks so cute in her skirt!

The Yarnarian Checks In.

I'm still here, just very busy dyeing and skeining and reskeining and getting bits of fibery stuff all over the floors.

All the yarns that I posted the other day have found homes. So now I need to get cracking on some new ones. I have this new dyeing technique that I'm playing with and I want to try it out with different colors. Will you notice the technique? Not likely, but I like challenges, so I'm with it.

Talk to you later, I hope. Or else tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or.......

The Yarnarian Has Her Dyeing Mojo Back!

DM, aka Dyeing Mojo, comes and goes. Right now it's spot on, which makes me a very happy camper given that I need to do some serious dyeing! giggle.

Here's what's being listed on Etsy this week. You, of course, my faithful Bloggettes, may order directly from me and pretty much get first pickings. email, as you know, is fritzL234 AT yahoo DOT com.

First of all, 2 very pretty and exciting Penny yarns: Merry-go-round and Mysterious.




Next are 2 Bambi yarns: Pretty Girl and Shale.




One lone Rose yarn: Stained Glass.



And, ta da, the return of KONA! Yup, that wonderful yarn that I sold this time last summer. I have a bit of it left, and if it goes, I'll order more. Here are the essentials: 100% superwash merino, fingering wt, in 1100 yard skeins. There's enough to make a shawl, stole, scarves, even lots of socks. Or a matching scarf and a pair of socks or whatever you wish. You have to knit with it to believe how soft and lovely it is. At the moment, the price is $35/skein + shipping; it may go up a little bit if I order more depending on how much it costs me. Even with that price, this is great value for the buck. These are big skeins, so figure on the shipping being a bit more to non-domestic places.





Knitting News: Not too much except for making my way to finishing the cashmere scarf and working on the lace yarn one. However, in a moment of total madness, I decided to knit Miss P an AG doll outfit. I found a lovely pattern for many pieces on the web, bought and downloaded it. I got about 2 inches into the skirt when I knew that the AG doll would swim in it. Frogged (so what else is new?), changed the pattern for my gauge, and knit this. I have about 3/4" to go, but at 280 stitches per round, it's taking me a while to get it done. Yarn is Tofutsies.



I'm planning on knitting a top to it out of white Dale Baby Ull with the skirt yarn as trimming.

And that's what's new in the world of Chez Yarnarian.

Henya and ScrabbleQueen - Thank you.