Thursday, January 21, 2010

More Hand Dyed Yarn


I have been busy.
Here's a sample of some lovely Merinio Deluxe yarn purchased from Spotlight and dyed by hand using Kool Aid.
I find the Kool Aid is the most effective dye for yarn. But, getting it here can be a problem. I'm lucky in that I have been sent some from Canada.
The other dyes don't seem to be so crisp in their colours.

On the knitting front, I spent all morning before work sorting out and listing my knitting needle collection.

I have a list, so that I can purchase needles when they come on sale without having to check the actual needles. I just have my knitting journal in my handbag and can see at a glance what I need.
The sorting is a big job as I have many many knitting needles. But once its done, I feel very organised.
I can't say my knitting room is as organised, but one of my New Years Resolutions was to keep the knitting room more tidy and to de-clutter monthly.
I am currently knitting a cabled hat with flaps for JW. Its a present for his birthday in March. I plan to knit another of the same pattern in a different colour for BW.
Another of my New Years Resolutions is to knit something for everyone this year.
So that's the reason the hat hat is definatly for the birthday.

I am also knitting socks. Just the plain 60 sts pattern using the self striping      " Noir " from Spotlight. I got a few balls of it on special at Christmas time.
These socks are black, grey and cream, so they should be a great gift for my Dad.
The other things I am knitting are really WIP's. A Kiri shawl and an Ishbel.
The Ishbel is for RG. Another resolution gift.
A quick pic of some more of my yarn. Again, the base is Spotlight yarn.
Nothing wrong with it. Its a wool /acrylic bland 50/50. It dyes well and is super soft and squishy.

Yarn is a passion of mine. I can't help myself. I have become more discerning as I have gotten older. I do prefer wool over all other, but, some of the baby yarns in acrylic and courtelle are just lovely. I am not adverse to buying that type of yarn for my stash.

I will post some pic's of my projects as I go. But for now, I need to do a few more rows on each project.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The First Blog


I love to knit.
Knitting is my passion.
I have been knitting since I was about five years old. I used to knit clothes for my Barbie, with a little help from my Mum.
I knit for myself, for friends, for shops, for charity. I do sample knitting and test knitting.
I would like to self publish my designs. That's something I plan to investigate this year.
My favourite knitting is for my 2 Grandsons. There's nothing more satisfying than planning , knitting and seeing those boys in my hand knits.
I have done a little spinning, but find that, at this stage, I am still a hand knitter at heart.

I have been dyeing yarn recently. Its fun to do and the results always amaze me.
I have my hand dyed yarn for sale on http://www.trademe.co.nz/. My name is nics3.
At this stage, I am reasonably new to yarn dyeing, but I really enjoy the results and find I want to keep all the yarns in my own stash.
Have a look at the yarns listed for sale.

This blog is intended for me to talk about my knitting..and talk and talk.
Feel free to leave comments as I would love to hear from fellow hand knitters.