Month: October 2016

Gansey Socks For My Special Yarn. 
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Gansey Socks For My Special Yarn. 

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This Summer, I bought this wonderful hank of yarn at Long Island Livestock. It’s 80% Suri llama, 10% icicle and 20% silk. I am now on the hunt for a special sock pattern. I’m looking through my Socks from the toe up book by Wendy D Johnson, and I came across a beautiful Gansey pattern I want to try. Now it’s all about the Gansey. 

Here are a few google images that appeal to me. 

Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Image from Kate Atherly Knits

http://www.lilivestockco.com 

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 All The Pieces are Knit, Now To Assemble. 

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My first sweater so far. Back, front and two sleeves are knit. I have the front collar on hold and I’m ready to assemble. My weekly knitting group is cancelled this week, so I may have to wait until Saturday for help from my monthly knitting group. 

 In the meantime I’m reading articles (creative knitting magazine has a great one) and will look up videos on YouTube. My monthly knitting group meets this Saturday, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. I’m quite anxious to put it all together.  Here is the link to the seaming a sweater blog. 

http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/blog/?p=3229 

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Butterfly Stitch Prayer Shawl

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This is one of the most beautiful prayer shawls I have seen. Although the name of this blog is Nyknits, crochet is my first love. My mother taught my two sisters and I to crochet as children. I remember watching in awe as she made beautiful doilies with the thinnest thread and a shiny, tiny metal hook. 

Every now and again, I get the urge to crochet. This is especially so when I’m working on a trying knit project. Like this first sweater project I’m working on. 

I was browsing through Ravelry, looking for a shawl to make with my leftover Lionbrand shawl in a bawl yarn. I’m familiar with the Prayer shawl ministry, but had never seen this butterfly stitch before. The pattern is by NJSharon and Debiadams on Ravelry. I added the pattern to my library and started working on it yesterday evening. 

I’m using Lionbrand’s shawl in a ball and a size I/9 (5.50mm) hook. Visit the http://www.prayershawlministry.com website to learn about prayer shawls and to find free patterns, both knit and crochet. 

There is a very thorough YouTube tutorial on the butterfly stitch that I found extremely helpful. It’s done by Joan Elisha https://youtu.be/ObrHl8fCFWU

This is the link to the free pattern. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/butterfly-stitch-prayer-shawl

The next three photos are from the ravelry page of NJSharon and Debiadams. 

My First Knit Pullover
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My First Knit Pullover

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I started this sweater this morning. I chose this pattern because it is a classic crew neck that I am hoping will be easy as a first timer.

I also like the fact that is knit in pieces. I need to experience assembling and sewing the pieces together. I’ll be looking to my knitting circle for guidence and encouragement. They are so good at that.

I’m giving myself two weeks to complete it. Fingers crossed. The yarn is Lionbrand’s cotton ease. I picked up eight skeins at the Mather Hospital Thrift Shop.

The pattern is Solid Staple Sweater by Laura Meiser. It’s a free pattern available at http://www.allfreeknitting.com

I Dyed Yarn With Turmeric. Yes, I Did. 
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I Dyed Yarn With Turmeric. Yes, I Did. 

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I’ve been devouring all things yarn. While at the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair, I attended a demonstration/talk about natural dyes  I’ve been reading, watching videos and asking questions in forums. I decided to try Turmeric. I had some, I like the color yellow, so Turmeric it is.

I read that you do not need a mordant for Turmeric to bind to wool, however, I was ascared. Lol. I made a paste of 3 tablespoons of Turmeric and 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar. I then soaked the yarn in water to cover with 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Too much? I soaked the yarn for two hours in  water and vinegar. I poured the soaking solution with a little more water in an enamel stock pot and heated it until it was right on the verge of boiling. I turned off the burner and added the yarn. I left the first one in until it was cool enough for me to handle (maybe 2 hours?) and the second one until the next day.

I love how they both came out. Let’s see how they hold up to washing.

The one on the right is the first go round.