Blog

is off the loom!

Got it assembled this morning, and proceeded to the wash and fluff stage

Still have to trim the fringe and snip some loose ends

Looks like it’s got Tiny Gus approval

And he is the blankie master, so I’m calling it good 🙂

Spent a few days on Whidbey with friends this week. Right on the water very near the Clinton ferry dock.

Was a really unique and characterful property- originally located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, it was barged to it’s current location in the 1950s to make way for I5 construction.

The daylight basement has been recently renovated to look just like the auto deck of a WA state ferry-

plus a captain’s stateroom

It was kind of amazing. More photos available at the Airbnb listing

Some spinning was accomplished- here is the resulting yarn relaxing in a hammock

Also did a bit of exploring the coastline in a kayak!

I had such fun paddling and taking in the beautiful scene- herons, kingfishers, killdeer, gulls, and also seals that came up pretty close to say hi.

Got back on friday, and am now back in farm mode, catching up with garden and critters. Things are really coming along in the hoophouse-

It already feels a bit like a jungle in there already, with poppies, borage and nasturtiums filling any gaps between veg, but they are so colorful and seem to bring in a lot of pollinators, so I just try and make sure that noone is getting shaded or squeezed.

Out in the garden beds the cabbages and broccoli seem to be really happy under their floating row cover-

but they are rapidly filling the space. Will have to see how long I can keep them covered before they start busting out!

and on the other side of the yard, peonies are popping

and sheep are just hangin’ loose, enjoying the spring sunshine

The beach was fun, but I’m happy to be back at the homestead. Been doing some more lanolin reclamation and making progress on my weaving-will plan to have updates on both next time.

Take care folks, and have a good week-

This past week or so has been about sampling and practicing.

I think it was a project on Ravelry that sent me looking for the Sheepfold cable stitch pattern. I can’t even remember now. It’s something I’ve wanted to incorporate into a garment for a long time, but couldn’t find a reference, until I made the connection with the Elizabeth Zimmerman Aran Coat. It turns out I had it here all the time in The Opinionated Knitter! I’ve always liked how the pattern undulates but lays flat and doesn’t add bulk.

But in order to work it back and forth rather than circularly I needed to have it charted.

It has twists on both even and odd rows, so I decided I’d work it back and forth across the front of the fabric to make it easier to follow the chart. So that meant working in my normal mode from left to right, then knitting like everyone else in the world back from right to left. I’d gotten a good deal of practice with right handed knitting while working on my Pluviae Vest, but that was just knitting, no purling or cables.

I’d developed some comfort with English style (throwing) over the course of that project, but purling was still pretty awkward. So I decided to use the swatch as a chance to switch up my technique, going Continental (picking) and also figuring out the right handed Norwegian purl.

Did a nice long swatch to get familiar with the flow of the pattern and practice the new stitch techniques. My tension is still a little wonky, but feeling pretty good about the flow- feels a lot more efficient!

Second swatch- is another lefty/righty exercise- this time just knit, tho. The yarn is my first go at blending the goodies I picked up at the Skagit Weavers Guild Auction a few weeks ago.

Figured I’d try out the yarn, and get a bunch of practice with the right-handed Continental knitting! For future reference, that’s 1.55 oz of yarn, swatch measures 18″ x 5.5″.

I’m toying with the idea of dyeing the swatch for future reuse, perhaps a gradient (?) . That could be fun. Or maybe some other interesting color effect.

And speaking of color- wanted to share a combo out in the hoophouse that is making me smile

The chive flowers are really cool- they seem to almost glow in their centers-

So that’s this weeks tiny bit of garden magic. Poppies will be coming on soon!

Last weeks rolags have been spun into about 65 yards of chain-plied worsted-ish weight yarn.

It’s a nice oatmeal color, and quite squishy. I thought it might be fun to use up some of my KoolAid leftovers from January to turn some of it a nice olive green. Partial packets of Orange (3g) Lemon-Lime (2g) and Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade (4 g)

DyeBath mixed and yarn pre-soaking

In the microwave-

and after sitting a few minutes, all color transferred to the wool. It was interesting that the colors seemed to fix to the fiber at different rates. Blue was the slowest, but given a little extra time, it all taken up and the desired color achieved.

And here we have our dyes and natural shades side by side.

This oatmeal color base will fun to use in more dyeing experiments over the summer!