Diving in... again.

Yes, I'm diving into a new hobby... again. And in my usual style: head-first, no-holds-barred and don't spare the pocketbook! What's the hobby? Silk painting.

Yes, today was payday and I've just ordered over $100 worth of supplies... and yet that was not as many supplies as I wanted to get. Oh, no. I had to restrain myself because the little niblet really, desperately needed a new computer. So, supplies for me, and needed parts for her machine. Fortunately, hubby and I know how to build them so the cost will be minimal on the PC front.

Also, with all the fiber dyes I have on hand, I already have a wide palette of colors to choose from, it's just the knick-nacky things, like stainless steel pushpins, better suited brushes, resist materials, etc. Actually the resists were the priciest part of the purchase, even out-doing the silks by a wide margin, if you include the applicator bottles.

Shushan Socks

Boy, am I late posting this one. I recently finished my Shushan socks in the Twisted Giles Kabaam! yarn.



I had enough left over that I think I might be able to squeak out a pair of plain ribbed socks for the little one. She's strangely excited about that. I will refrain from calling us "sock twins" if we ever end up wearing them at the same time.

I have also made progress on my two versions of the Anniversary shawl.



Somehow I have not managed to share a picture of the one in KnitPicks "Sherry" colorway. I have those little closed rubber rings for stitch markers in white, and the KnitPicks laceweight is turning them pink! Pretty scary that I wash the dye out of my own hand dyed yarns better than a professional company. :(

I'm a sheep!

Although I suppose being a sheep in the fiber world is not as bad as elsewhere. :/

I've joined the latest craze, Plurking. Come join and be one of us.

Here goes nothing...

Well, I just spent $40 (one QUARTER of that for shipping!) on materials to try making a warping board of my own design for self-striping yarn. No offense to the lovely Scout (of Scout's Swag) but while her board is cool and all, I want something bigger. And less tangly.

Since these materials were ordered online, we'll see how this goes, but I'm strangely optimistic.

I finished (finally!) spinning up yarn from my own store's roving. One unit (I sell in 4oz. units) of "Purple Heart" and one unit of "Purplexed" spun to about fingering weight singles, and then plied together. I'm letting it rest on the 'noddy, then I'll wash and dry for pictures. I'm thinking a skinny scarf, or something. Not sure yet.

On the non-fiber homefront, today was mini-Di's last day of school, and it was a half-day. Apparently the end of school celebration included some form of recreational sport involving a super-soaker. They sent her home soaked, filthy, and hopped up on sugar. Thanks a lot folks.

I don't know... it's a mystery!

Started my first mystery KAL this weekend with the swatch from the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl group on Ravelry and Yahoo. It looks to be an interesting project.



From the various hints I've gotten reading the posts in the Ravelry group, it sounds as though it will be done in the round, which should prove interesting. I didn't care for the look of the fabric in the swatch when I did it on US 5's, so I dropped it down to size 4's (seen in the above swatch). I still think it's a little sloppy looking, but then I'm not an experienced lace knitter, and I'd really hate to have to drop to 3's.

New Line

Finally busted into the new cone of sock yarn, the Merino/Tencel. It's really nice... not sure how hard-wearing it will be, but it's very soft with a nice sheen. The twist feels nice and firm. It had better wear like iron considering the price compared to the other two cones I bought! Four skeins of it are dyed up and drying in the gypsy room... two in "Forest Pond" and two in "Summer Iris".

The Summer Iris sock yarn was not my idea. Mini-Til has decided she wants to work for mom as her summer job (I didn't have the heart to tell her about child labor laws) and so last night she wanted to "test" for the position of assistant. This basically consisted of her picking the colors herself, and squishing the dye in the plastic-wrapped bundles. She even squirted on the purple by herself. She did an awesome job! There will be pictures when it dries.

The funniest part was when I said I had to think about it because I didn't know whether I could afford to hire her for the summer, she said "You mean I'd get paid for it too?!" She's so cute.

I feel like a real business woman... finally.

Last weekend I had my first "Oh-my-gosh-they-spent-how-much?" order from my Etsy Shop and it was more than enough to buy a shipment of "replacement" blank roving and some more bottles and things for the dye studio. Well the goodies arrived today. But today was MOM'S DAY OFF, so I did little more than cross-check the invoice against items in the boxes and stowed them away.

It was weird. I've been working my tuckus off for a week, and actually had to MAKE myself take today off. I kept getting antsy and wandering by the dye station. BUT I did manage to make it most of the way through a new book that has been sitting by my bed for a month waiting on me. I only slipped twice, and pulled all my dry yarn down and cleaned the dye station. Otherwise, I did do good and wait until after midnight to wind up a skein.

Dry colors almost ready to go up in the shop: Chocolate-covered Cherry variegate, an orange-green combo to be named later, and some Beth's Roses II in Merino/Bamboo. No new roving at the moment, but that's next. I still have to weigh out and divide up the 80 ounces that arrived today.