A lull

What do you do when there is a break in your busy schedule? If you are like me, you hit the fiber arts, HARD, while also perusing some interesting fiber arts books in the evenings.

My latest dye experiments have left me with some gorgeous colors that I want to do something special with. These short-row knitting motifs look like a good candidate... once I master the techniques.

I am always looking for unusual ways to document my garden plants. Cyanotype doesn't provide the detail or color I would like to capture, but ecodyeing just might. Again, I'll have to practice.

Dyeing: Dyed yarn with goldenrod; report to follow. More indigo dyeing.
Knitting: The snowflake headband is done; I started another headband in my granddaughter's school colors: black and yellow. I'm discovering I really hate knitting with acrylic.
Sewing: I made drawstring bags for the guild banners as the old ones were falling apart; nothing special, just some leftover polar fleece from JoAnn.

Weaving: Not really weaving but hemming handwoven towels and stitching together panels from a March 2025 weaving project, using the "baseball stitch" which is like lacing one's shoes.

Part of the mess in my so-called studio is from unfinished projects. It was time to either stitch or get off the pot. Now the red and black houndstooth towels are hemmed and the buffalo plaid blanket is on its way to being finished. What's next?

Quirky socks

There is nothing quirky about these socks except for the name of the sock yarn. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be self-striping, but I chose to believe not since I could not find a definitive place where a stripe started.

Pattern: Short-row Toe and Heel Basic Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company Quirky Socks, colorway QS1111, for the foot and leg; Cascade Yarns Heritage, in natural, for toes, heels, cuffs
Needles: US1
Modifications: None to speak of

These socks are knit toe-up, my usual MO. One different thing I do is not purl back on the last row of the toe and heel but go forward. This probably does not make any difference, but it appeals to my sense of structure since that last purl row is not like the others. But now I'm wondering if that contributes more twist that handknit socks naturally have. They are basically one big spiral.

This pair is to be a holiday gift, not sure who to yet. Most of my recipients (myself included) require a larger size, so these are knit 72 stitches per round, 72 rows per foot, 72 rows per leg. That seems to work out just right.

There is more quirky sock yarn to come.

Dyeing with purple basil

It's funny how the color of a dye plant may or may not be reflected in the dye bath, and the color of the dye bath may or may not match the dyed yarn. The latter is so true for purple basil. The dye bath was, well, purple, while the yarn turned out green, or with undertones of green after being modified.

Day 1:
The dye bath: I used 900g of plant material, three whole plants, which is WAY more than necessary. (Note to self: shake off bugs *before* bringing plants into house.) After roughly chopping the plant material, I added it to three gallons of water and heated the pot to around 175 degrees. I maintained the temperature between 160 and 180 for an hour, then let dye bath cool overnight.

Meanwhile, I applied a cool alum mordant on 200g of Cascade 220 yarn - 4 100-yard skeins, 2 mini skeins - using 10% alum by weight of fiber (WOF), as described in Wild Color.

Day 2:
After straining the dye material from the bath, I add the (rinsed, wet) yarn, heated the pot to 170-180, and held it there for one hour. I then removed the yarn and divided the dye bath into five containers for my experiments in modifying.

• One container - no modifier; removed one mini skein, left the other mini in the unmodified dye bath overnight to see how much darker it might get.
• One container - ammonia modifier for one 100-yard skein (a small glug); tested the pH to confirm.
• One container - vinegar modifier for one 100-yard skein (two healthy glugs); tested the pH after one glug, but a little off, hence the second glug.
• One container - iron modifier for one 100-yard skein (half tsp?)
• One container - chrome (was supposed to be copper but I grabbed the wrong container) modifier for one 100-yard skein, loose crystals in bag (1 T?)

I let them all set for "a while" (less than an hour), then rinsed and hung to dry.

Day 3:
I rinsed remaining mini skein and hung it to dry.

A few days later, I washed all the skeins with Eculen, then hung them to dry again.

And here are the results:

No modifier

Vinegar

Ammonia

Iron

Chrome

No modifier, long soak

I just love, love, love these colors. Now I am wishing I hadn't used all my plants at one time. I guess I'll just have to grow some more next year and try again.

My fidgetspinner

I've been so busy lately that I found myself rebelling by just sitting and knitting. For me, knitting is soothing, even when it doesn't work and I have to rip it back. Knitting is my fidgetspinner.

Dyeing: More indigo dyeing.
Knitting: I'm continuing to work on the snowflake headband. I started another pair of "Quirky" socks - toes finished. The previous pair is done-done.
Spinning: I demo'd at the farmer's market again this past week, using both the e-spinner and a spindle; both last week and this I was (jokingly) told I was "cheating" by using the e-spinner.

Many (30+) years ago, I purchased a quilt at the now-defunct L.S. Ayres. It shows the many years it spent on my bed. A quilting friend of mine thinks it is beyond repair (or attractive repair - there is always "visible mending"), but I got it into my head that I could make a quilted jacket from it. Finding a pattern that matches what is in my head is another matter. The one in this book comes close:

My only concern is my sewing skills - they may not be up to this jacket.

My house, my studio

There is an annual "rural studio tour" in these parts every spring. When I was taking a pottery class, I expressed the wish for an urban studio tour. The instructor laughed and said his entire house was his studio. It happens to all of us.

How I spent my summer vacation

Indigo dyeing stuff at the near end, weaving stuff in the middle, spinning at the far end. I feel like I am in the middle of a lot of projects. And this photo does not include the other three rooms that contain at least some fiber and/or equipment (plus the garage). Yikes.

Dyeing: I dyed Cascade 220 with purple basil and am *very* pleased with the results; separate post to follow.
Knitting: The quirky socks need to be wet finished, then they will be done. Started a headband to practice colorwork.
Spinning: I figured out how to get the power pack to work with my Fold e-spinner, so I took it to a "fiber friends" gathering plus demonstrated at the local farmer's market.

The annual challenge for the spinning guild is to check out a book from our library and use something in it for inspiration. That is rather vague on purpose, as the primary goal is to get people to use the library. I took out a book on knitting hats with the triple goal of setting a good example, practicing colorwork, and using up some of the acrylic I purchased for my granddaughter to practice crochet with (which she has lost interest in). I have done colorwork before, but for some reason it is kicking my butt this time around. Hands cramping up from arthritis does not help.

Green-yellow dishcloths

Yet another FO I forgot to blog about! I think this is the last one (fingers crossed). It's nice to get caught up, though.

Pattern: none
Yarn: Peaches and Creme Original Solids, in "natural" (maybe?), dyed with leftover tie-dye dye
Needles: US7

These are knit in garter stitch. I cast on three stitches, increased on the "right side" a stitch at either end of the row using a yarn over until the dishcloth seemed long enough/mostly square. Then I continued the YO's but decreased a stitch on either side of them using a knit-two-together. Bound off when down to three stitches on the needle.

My kids keep saying they don't need more dishcloths... until they do. I like to have a couple on hand for those times. Also, dishcloths are an easy pickup-and-knit project when I'm feeling idle.

Splash socks

Here is another FO that I forgot to blog about: a pair of socks, destined for my son, a.k.a. Big Foot. For his socks, I cast on for 80-stitch rounds, knit 80 rounds for the foot and 80 rounds for the leg. That seems to be a good formula for his feet.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company Splash Sock, colorway 1321
Needles: US1
Modifications: None

A fiber friend belonged to a SSYC yarn subscription or something like it, and the sock yarn was piling up, so she gave some to me. Everytime she saw me working on these socks, she commented on how much she like the yarn. No backsies allowed!

As I have said before, socks are my portable project. If I anticipate having to wait somewhere, I bring either a book or socks to knit. It seems like when I do, the wait is short. Today I did not take anything with me to the vet (besides the dog), and the wait was l-o-n-g. Isn't that the way these things go?

I like to match self-striping socks, although at times I have worked off either end of the cake, so the stripes are reversed. Overheard at a fiber festival: "If you want socks that match, go to the store!"