more dyeing

I am quite hooked.

I dyed these skeins this morning. I tried a new method of putting a few drops of food coloring into the pan with a little bit of water, and then placing the skein on top of the dye. The wool really sucks the color up; it's pretty neat to watch!

and these are some skeins from earlier this week:

this behemoth is half a pile of fiber I spun during the summer

I am seriously infatuated with the dyeing process!

Other than dyeing, I also knit this little bunny from handspun:

it was a teeny skein someone gifted me in a swap package, and it made a very sweet bunny nugget! I still have some left, I could probably squeeze a few more out of it.

I also finished Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth. There are three books to the series (I haven't read the first one) and this is the second. It has also been developed into a tv series on PBS. I really enjoyed reading this. I expected it to be more of a memoir, and about halfway through, it did read more like one. The first half tells the stories of three people Jennifer Worth came to know, how they survived life in the workhouse, and their lives after. They are very sad but beautiful and moving stories. The second half shows more of her life as a nurse and her very special friendship she makes with one man. I do recommend this book.

 One last thing to share:

This absolutely yummy fiber is from paperdag of Sheep on a Spring. Gahhh!! I can't wait to spin them up! aren't the colors amazing??

I have a short work week, so today is my Friday, woo hoo!!!!
I hope you all have a wonderful day xx

a new adventure: yarn dyeing

All week long I look forward to the weekend :) I know I'm not the only one!

I tried my hand at Kool-Aid dyeing this week. I covet speckled yarn and found a great stove top tutorial through the super cute Hey Porkchop's blog. I used a partial skein of Paton's Classic Wool in white and micro-leftovers of Berroco Cuzco. Technically, I purchased three flavors of Kool-Aid powder mix, but it really turned out to be just two different colors... Tropical Punch is not blue even though the packet is :)

Patons Classic Wool

Berroco Cuzco

I secured the Berroco hank too tightly, and the dye didn't absorb into the yarn under my ties! (above photo) I realized this after I reskeined the hanks.

It was a very fun morning! Dyeing is something I've wanted to do for awhile. I'm glad I finally tried it and I will definitely dye more yarn. I will have my speckled yarn :)

I finished my Halloween socks! This is my eighth pair this year :) I don't think I will reach my goal of thirteen but that's ok. There was something so satisfying about these plain socks; I wanted to knit on them all the time.

Pattern: just a plain vanilla sock, 64 stitches
Yarn: Patons Socks in Bramble Stripes
Needles: 2.25 mm

I really like this yarn. I know it's not the fanciest or the softest, but it makes very durable socks.

I cast on a pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks. If you know me or read this blog, you know how much I adore this pattern! I have knit three pairs already (one was a gift) and they are my favorite socks! They have such nice texture and are just snuggly enough on my feet without being too tight.

Berny loves knitting time too

One more thing, the lovely Jen of figknits is having a sock pattern sale through October, two patterns for the price of one! Click the link for her blog and additional information. I have two of her gorgeous sock patterns and can't wait to cast on :)

Hope you all have a happy and fun weekend!!