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January 26, 2008
a la recherche de la laine perdue
Today I talk about my yarn for dyeing.
Since last year, I have a wee place in Etsy and started selling my own yarn. Now hand-dyeing-oneself is quite handy for every knitter, looks not so difficult, so I wanted to do it, too. Once I tried, I recognized that I really love dyeing, so I set my objective to open my hand-dyed yarn shop online.
The most important and at the same time difficult part to work out is the availability of supply. There is some shop in Japan who possess undyed yarn for dyers, but there is absolutely no yarn which I need. But imagine if I get it from overseas, how much it cost with shipping, custom tax and all!
I somehow managed to find a Japanese yarn supplier and worked with him to make my own yarn, which is now on my shop. The yarn was imported from Italy, and has fabulous quality. So I dived into the shop and started.
But my happy start didn't last long. Almost immediately I found the yarn was out of stock and no possibility of back order. There was some sad misunderstanding between supplier and me and after since, I have been searching the appropriate yarn for my shop.
Recently I finally chose a yarn proposed from the supplier. At first I declined it, because the weight is not perfect for my needs. It is 5 ply instead of 4 ply, so the length for 100 g is not very good. And waiting in dreaming to find my prince-charming-perfect yarn, the time and season has just passed. I decided to try the yarn.
It is not perfect for required condition, however it is SO SOFT, and springy more than the current Italian yarn. This time it is made in Japan, and the yarn has a striking resemblance with extrafine merino wool. Yet it is washable like cashmerino. Cashmerino yarn contains more than half synthetic fiber, but this is 100% wool.
Some days ago I tried to dye the very yarn so far:
And it is not bad. I believe. I made a swatch to see the gage.
It is 31 sts for 10cm, with US 2 needles. Not bad.
So I made a decision. This time I know I can get a quantity.
Also, I look into some lace weight yarn. For that I don't think I need many, since I don't plan to make it as my regular. Now I have some of 100% Alpaca, some 100% cashmere, and this
This is 40% cashmere, 50% wool and 10% nylon. I did a try, and not bad. Maybe I will buy some more.
Therefore, please stay tune, friends, soon new line of my hand-dyed yarn will appear on my shop…
(BTW, I have still some more current Italian yarn, so it will appear too!)
Posted by trico at 11:21 PM | ???? (0)
January 21, 2008
Knitty happy days
Guys, I keep knitting happily. My respectful queen of mindless knitting, Chelsea doesn't stop giving me endless happiness to knit. It is the first time for me to try Artyarns Supermerino, and almost immediately after I casted it on, I started to search the online shop which carries the very yarn….Oh I love the yarn, madly. It is sooooo dreamy soft, flying between needles and my finger, almost slippery, and color...it really makes me thrilled. I have to thank Shobhana to give me an opportunity to discover the yarn. Oh. Any sale information of this yarn are highly welcomed!
Regardless above, the actual progress is not so far. Because I tell you, something interrupted the honeymoon of Chelsea and me. It was, after all, an ugly pair of yellow mitten knitted by myself 6 years ago. It was for my DS first when he was baby, and I have just dived into the new knitting world at that time. I have started to collect yarns and these are knitted with Jaeger matchmaker merino DK in variegated shade(it has long been discontinued, you know) of red, orange and yellow and Tasmanian DK wool shade yellow. The yarns are good, just the mitten was knitted terribly and has strange shape, the thumb is too short to put the real finger of human. Shame on me, recently on a freezing morning I took it again from the bottom of closet and had my DS second use them. Poor son. He was just happy to have mittens on, to go to nursery. But the other day I just looked at it closely and stunned how ugly it is, and completely weird thumb length.
I asked DS second, if I knit another new pair of mitten for him, which color he preferred.He replied immediately, "Pink!"
Yes, I don't know why but my 3 years-old son loves Pink. I hesitated though, to knit a pink pair of mitten...so I put my nose into my satellite stash cases which contains orphaned skeins and grabbed a raspberry (not baby) pink yarn and pumpkin orange yarn, showed him. He generously approved my selection of colors, so far I made a pair of new mitten for him:
I made first one at night for around only two hours , and the next morning I made him try the one. It was too small. Ugh.
So I knitted the second one a bit larger.
Fortunately this time it worked. This is no fancy FO, just useful for him and it is "in-need" knitting, yet it is my second FO of 2008!
BTW, speaking about in-need, recently I've got one of my "desperately in need" yarn. It was Rowan Felted Tweed shade #136, Corn. It has been discontinued since 2003 and at these days I bought 6 balls of it ambitioning to knit something someday with it. I just loved the subtle, delicate shade. And the other day recently during knitting blog-surfing, I was hit by an ideal project for the yarn. I knew the design and wanted to knit one day, but I didn't put it into my stash. Now I found the perfect pattern for the yarn, except the fact of lacking one ball.
The project calls 7 balls of it and I have 6. I absolutely love the yarn and want to use it definitely, but the shade has been discontinued years ago. Of course I tried eBay, googling all over the world, put message at "seeking yarn" place, in vain.
In the meantime, one day my DS first was invited to a friend, who lives by 20 minutes subway ride from our home. I took him to, and noticed at the moment of leaving the station, that it is where my LYS is actually located! I didn't think about it at all!(I don't go LYS frequently since I get most of yarns by online) It was long time I haven't been there, so happily I visited the shop. Hitching some beautiful wool, I asked the owner if they have some orphans felted tweed of old shade by chance. They didn't, of course. However, the owner kindly offered me to ask Rowan distributer and other shops, just in case. The next day, I've got a call from the shop to announce that they FOUND A BALL!!
Dear friend, it is not so bad at all, to live in a rustic site on the planet, in a point of knitting view. Please just disregard the batch of yarn behind the felted tweed in question, these are kind of, ew, you know, some stuff followed me.
Posted by trico at 10:35 PM | ???? (1)
January 15, 2008
First 2008 FO!
I completed Charlotte yesterday!
I put a bit of green to the wrist and bottom and happy about it. The yarn's real color is rather grape, not faced brick. This is a snug short sweater and I cut down 6 sts each for sleeves, added some lows for the body, from the smallest size. And it is perfectly fit to me. I wanted to cast off with only one week, but it finished in two weeks instead. Nothing fancy, but I love the sweater.
And the yarn is fabulous, it is aran weight yarn and looks quite rough-textured, but it is very light and not at all itchy. (I am quite sensible normally. Alpaca, angora and even kidsilk haze are all itchy for me)The yarn contains wool, silk and cashmere.
What's next? Oh, it is Chelsea from Yarnplay of Shobhana, reverse stockinette and drop-shoulder cool sweater.
I've already knitted a ball....
Posted by trico at 10:46 PM | ???? (1)
January 10, 2008
Life is a winding road
Thank you so much for your warm comments. My knitting mojo is in good level, though Charlotte is not yet completed.
This is a photo of the day 5, and there is no photo after that. But it is now very close to completion, I am knitting the neck rib and will finish very soon, after that is just a joining job.
There is a reason why it is not completed within a week. Simply I was sick and is. My stomach made me feel terrible and today I've got an inspection with gastrocamera. Yeah. When the doctor proposed that and decided, THAT made me sick more than ever and I have suffered stomachache in addition. But thank god, the camera found nothing bad in my stomach. It is a good discovery, yet I keep feeling unconfortable. Anyway.
So it is something mental, the time will help me. Just right now I am not yet in good form, but I confirmed there is no organic problem. You know, what I need is a cup of good harbal tea and KNITTING!
I have already prepared the next project....
Gorgeous Artyarn's supermerino, winded up!
Posted by trico at 09:17 PM | ???? (2)
January 03, 2008
A happy new year
Last year I didn't knit much. I was not active, positive, nor productive. All things are related with my personal life, private mind status. It is very clear for me that I cannot knit at all when I am not in good mood. Knitting cannot console me unfortunately. Though when I am happy and relaxed, knitting knocks my heart gently, and I can respond.
Everyone have their own story and life. So do I. The last year was my struggling year, I was stressed, disturbed by revealed family secret, got a feeling of lost place in public working world, and so on. Now I have to say that I was terrible in 2007.
During that difficulty, I tried to say time to time "I am OK" here in my blog, to say I am alive, in a wee corner of blogsphere, or globe. But actually I was not OK. Not at all. Last year I was very often in bed, even if I wasn't sick physically, I was just too tied to do anything. I did the minimum to carry off daily life and the days just passed aside of me. Home wasn't comfortable place for everyone of family. I was jerk and lazybones.
After moving in November, though, my situation has been gradually improved. The more home is tidied up, the more my nerve is calmed down. My surrounding is changed; we bought some new furniture, cleaned up the boxes. Put in order all the books, yarns, knitting thingies as well as other daily materials. These are physical changes, but there, at the same time a mental transition was getting on inside of me.
Now I feel as if I digged out of a dark tunnel. The year 2007 has passed. I don't tell you I have now completely perfect life, I have yet tons of daily rough bits here and there, some really annoy me, but I can handle them. I have energy to live with daily errands. I can travel. I can live. I can knit now, so far.
At the end of the year, I wanted to knit something, a mindless easy knit which just make me work on, so I took my "super-easy leg warmer" and completed it. When it finished, I felt strong motivation to knit. It is like fire and burning me. I know I have tons of WIPs of the past, but I casted on a new project without hesitation, on January 1st.
This is Day 1. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, (yes, the same one I use for my Arangensey, but the color is different), the pattern is "Charlotte" from Rowan book A Season's Tale. Simple snuggy turtle-neck sweater. This calls only stockinette and a bit ribbing. It is just right for me. My urge for knitting is now bursting, I just need to knit, knit, knit. I love the yarn, and knit it. And this is today's status:
Day 3.
Please wish me luck. I try to complete it in a week.