Knitting Season

Where did August go? I must have blinked and missed it. Oh wait, I was working full time and writing my thesis, which means a black hole must have opened up and swallowed every waking hour.

Well it's September now, and that means one thing.

No, I'm not thinking of school.

Despite the +30C temperatures today, autumn is just around the corner. It's my favorite season, with cool crisp weather and leave crunching underfoot. And then there's knitting.

I haven't had a lot of time to knit lately, but I recently went on a trip to visit my family in Ontario, which kick started my knitting mojo. My aunties requested some knitted items so we hit up the local yarn shop of non-other than the Yarn Harlot herself: Lettuce Knit.


They picked out some lovely yarn (Koigu KPPPM for a triangle scarf and Berroco Vintage for some mittens), so I think I'll really enjoy knitting for them!

My knitting addiction seems to be infectious.

I knit a pair of lovely handspun alpaca mittens for my cousin Rochelle who is crazy about alpacas, and I have a hunch that she likes them.

(I think her friend might be jealous!)

My cousins have a balcony in their house, and 20 foot ceilings in the main entrance. I couldn't help myself, I had to try spinning over the railing. My 13 year old cousin Nic helped me by keeping the spindle spinning as I lowered it down (that's his hand).


Even my engineer brother learned the basic knit stitch while we were stuck in traffic (again) on highway outside Toronto.


I also managed to finish a sock, in a new pattern I'm really excited about. It's the Minnesota Moonlight sock by Cat Bordhi, with the new and amazing Sweet Tomato Heel. Love. It.


My grandma was really excited to see the lovely yarn I was spinning and all my knitting projects. She even gave me a set of handcarders made for her mother by my great grandfather. Cool!



All in all, a great trip, with lots of knitting :) I'm all ready for fall and winter! Bring on knitting season!

The right tools

So when I first read about Signature knitting needles on the Yarn Harlot's blog, I thought to myself: "Who would spend that kind of money on knitting needles??" Those needles are almost 10 times the cost of a regular pair. I got a set of 9 pairs of interchangeable circulars for about $75 and one pair of Signatures costs 3/4 of that.

That was before I tried them.

A woman in my spinning group had 2 pairs of circulars and a set of dpns. I tried the dpns and I tell you, I didn't want to give them back. They had stiletto tips for Pete's sake!

I'm a different sort of crafter than I was when I read that post by the Harlot. I realized that I was willing to spend $50 multiple times over for well-balanced, well-crafted spindles, to maximize enjoyment of spinning. Why not spend money for a good pair of knitting needles? I also know what kind of knitting enjoy and I figured that stiletto tipped needles would be very useful for knitting lace. Lace knitting something I've been enjoying more and more.

Well, they came today...

4mm, Stilettos. mmmmmmm...

I think I might be in a new knitting needle bracket (a la Corner Gas).

I might actually finish my Gnarled Oakwoods shawl now! (yes that's right. I start it in 2008.)
(Also: bunny nuggets!!!)

Expect the unexpected...

...when using natural dyes.

I've been experimenting again with the dye pot. I did another batch of black beans, and I got a much deeper blue this time! I soaked the beans at room temperature this time instead of in the fridge. Much better.


Then I ventured out in the rural area south of Winnipeg and found some St. John's Wort (with the help of a good friend, thanks Laura!) I used them fresh, and I've heard you're supposed to be able to get green, maroon and yellow from one dye bath!



So I simmered the flowers, and mordanted my yarn in alum.

And then I put my skein into the red liquid.


And I simmered that, while enjoying my balconey garden. :)

The skein did not turn green. But it also didn't quite turn maroon either.

In artificial light it looks like this:


But in sunlight, it's got a browner hue (even more brown than the photo suggests).


Colour changing yarn? Wow! But not really colours I enjoy... peachy brown. Lovely. Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess. What should I make out of it?

In other news, I'm knitting alpaca mittens in the middle of July. Yes. I know. They are for my cousin, whom I'm visiting over the September long weekend. I'm using my handspun baby alpaca, 3 ply chunky. One mitten is almost finished. Here's a teaser. I don't want to ruin the surprise. ;)


Also I got two more Jenkins spindles. One heavy hickory standard (1.5oz):


and the other a boxwood Aegean, which might just be my new favorite.

Both fibres are from Sheeples. The top one will be a sweater some day.

Ok back to thesis writing. Will post again when the golden rod is flowering! (I'm going to dye with that too!)

Dyeing with food colouring

Well I was getting a little impatient for my dye plants to grow and I have been accumulating white and cream coloured fleece and wool.



(this stuff is from a sheep named Dot. I recently found out she met a tragic end at the jaws of a coyote... RIP Dot, you'll live on in your lovely, soft, creamy fleece.)

So I got out my crockpot and some Wilton's icing gels (AKA food colouring) and got busy.


Superwash Merino/Mohair/Nylon blend from Paradise Fiber:

I used Teal, Kelly Green, and Golden Yellow with a bit of No Taste Red.


I love how it turned out. I can't wait to see how it looks spun and knitted up into socks!!

Also I finished one of my black bean socks and started the next one. Perhaps I might have to go for a little forage in the woods later today and see if I can get some oak galls.

Or maybe I could dye some handspun with the onion skins my friend Esther has been saving for me...


Or perhaps I should try out the logwood chips I purchased when I was at Maiwa in December.


Or maybe I should go write more of my thesis.... :P

Spring!!

Look!

My seeds are sprouting!


I started seeds for cosmos, coreopsis and hollyhock (for dyeing yarn) and tomatoes, basil and hyssop for eating! (Hyssop makes delicious tea).

So exciting. Summer is almost here!

Also:


My black bean socks. :)

Black Beans

When I went to the West Coast in December, I visited a store called Maiwa. They sell all sorts of textile related supplies, including dye supplies. I found a book called Wild Color by Jenny Dean. It grabbed my imagination and I've been dreaming all winter about dyeing yarn with wildflowers, tree bark and foodstuffs!

I just couldn't wait any longer and I had to try dyeing some yarn. The first dyestuff I chose was black beans (I saw some cool results on Ravelry, so I had to try it myself).

I bought a pound of dry black beans.

I soaked them in cold water for roughly 48 hours,

and then, I made chili.

But before the beans went into the chili pot, I carefully ladled off the purplish liquid onto my yarn. The night before, I had mordanted my yarn with alum (a chemical that helps the colour stick to the fibre) and cream of tartar (helps brighten the colour).

Then I let my superwash merino/nylon sock yarn soak in the bean water for another night. The result?

A lovely steel-blue yarn! :)

Wow. I think I might need to add this to my list of fibre-y addictions! But as my cousin said, I'm not adding a new addiction, I'm just expanding my existing one. I'll be posting more of my experiments throughout the summer, so stay tuned!

I've already started a pair of socks from it :) (Cables and corrugations from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters)

Which natural dye should I try next? Logwood? Onion Skins?

Knitting Season

I live in Manitoba Canada. If you've never been here in winter you are missing out. Sometimes in the middle of January, the icy winds blow from the arctic, and the temperature drops into the -30s Celcius, but the wind makes it feel like -40s. Yes, it's so cold your nose hairs freeze together when you breath. But it's best not to have your nose exposed to that kind of cold.

As I right this, the temperature is -28C, with a windchill of -39C. Some might say that is too cold. But I say the temperature is just right.... for knitting!

There is only one project that can truly satisfy a knitter in this kind of weather and that is a warm pair of mittens. Have I mentioned how much I love to knit mittens? None of this fingerless mitt crap either! No way. You'll get frost bite in under a minute if you try that here. Even regular single layer mittens are not enough to keep out that biting wind. Some people prefer double layer mittens, like Fiddleheads, or thrummed mittens perhaps. My favorite is felted (or if you're picky about your fibre terminology, "fulled") mittens.


Start with 100% wool (alpaca also works). Knit the mittens much bigger than you need them. Then throw them in the washing machine, in a pillow case, on the hot/cold cycle. Check them often. I knit my cuffs after felting.

I've knit 2.5 pairs of mittens in the last 3 weeks. Very very satisfying! The .5 pair is for my dad, who tragically lost one of his mittens. I knit him a replacement, because he lives in Saskatchewan and it's just as cold over there!

Winter is also a good month for alpacas:


I knit some alpaca goodies for a local alpaca farmer. I hope they like them!

And also spinning! I'm participating (somewhat... with the limited time available) in the SpinDoctor podcast Rare Breed spinning contest, where you spin as many types of rare sheep breed wool as you can before June (also the deadline for my thesis...). I don't think I'm going to be a high scorer, but I'm super interested in spinning different kinds of wool.
I started with some cotswold from Nova Scotia:


and then some Romeldale/California Variagated mutant from Spirit Trail Fiberworks.


I'll try to post more as I go! :) Until then, keep warm (unless you're someplace like California or Florida, in which case, you should come visit and find out what winter is really like ;))

Being a non-consumerist knitter

Did you listen to the radio or watch tv over the holiday at all? If you did, did you notice how everything is all about buy more more MORE?

I hate it. I hate the more, more, more attitude. When is it enough? When does one have enough of something so as not to need more?

One of the main reasons I knit is so that I can be in touch with the process of creating something, preferably something useful for myself or others. I knit a hat for my grandma who is having chemo, to help her to feel a little bit better about herself when she looks in the mirror.

I knit hats for my dad and my brother for Christmas.


I'm knitting mittens for my hubby and I, so that our hands can be warm in the bitter cold of winter on the prairies.

I spin so that I be even closer to very beginning of the process. I have a collection of lovely spindles, which I feel are enough to make the kinds of yarn I want. Quality tools for my craft. I do buy yarn. I do buy roving/top/fleeces. But not uncontrollably and not just because they are pretty and I have to have them.

So am I the only one who thinks it's odd that other knitters and spinners have the more, more, more mentality? I was on ravelry and I saw a post where someone bought a very expensive ball of yarn, and it was met with comments like, "oh you're on your way down the slippery slope", and "welcome to the addiction". (yes this blog is called allison's knitting addiction, but I'm addicted to knitting. not buying yarn.)

I am glad that I have a small yarn stash. As a poor student I have been knitting from my stash a lot more often. That's the key though, KNITTING from STASH. Not just stashing and stashing it away. The yarn I have, could easily be used up by me in a couple of years. I don't really feel the need to buy a lot more.

I've seen similar comments about collecting spindles. One woman in my spinning group even commented that I say I have enough spindles, until I see one that I just have to have and then I'll buy another.

I'm not saying I won't buy another spindle, if I find there is a gap in the usefulness of my current collection. But what is with the pressure from the knitting and spinning community to buy whole rooms full of yarn and pounds pretty roving, and hundreds of spindles. When is it enough? Why won't people accept it when I say I have enough?

I find it very troublesome that a hobby that is so grounded in tradition has succumbed to the consumeristic pressures of modern society. What do you think? Are there other knitters/spinners out there like me?