Three-color log cabin scarf

I wove a log cabin scarf for my SO in 2018, using Cascade 220 Superwash (because he had put a previous knit scarf through the washing machine and ruined it). The selvages wore out, though. He received a lot of compliments on that log cabin scarf, so I decided to repeat the effort, but with three colors (because a recent program at the spinning guild was about log cabin and its modifications).

Pattern: none
Weave structure: Log cabin
Loom: Ashford SampleIt
Warp: Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worted, naturally dyed with walnut, henna, turmeric, and onion skins
Weft: Same as warp
EPI/PPI: 7.5/7.5
Ends: 54
Finished size: 58"L (without fringe), 7"W (with crocheted border)
Finishing: twisted fringe, single crocheted selvages

Because of the frayed selvages on the previous log cabin scarf, I chose to finish the selvages on this one with single crochet. Also, the edging covered the not-too-bad-but-not-perfect selvages. I debated about the fringe, because some men don't like fringe, but went ahead with it. I told my SO I could change that, but he thinks it adds something special.

Wrangling three colors took some concentration, so I did all the weft in one day, cheat sheet and sticky note by my side. I was also careful to not stretch out the warp as I have done on other scarves. I wasn't sure how the pattern would look, but it turned out rather decent (IMHO).

Time of reckoning

A review of my fiber resolutions for 2024 was a bit disappointing. I achieved NONE of my fiber goals, although one I tacked on at a later date did get done: having my hand-pieced quilt top quilted by a professional. "Buy no fiber" failed from the get go; no work was done on the Accidental Poncho; and I lost interest in dyeing roving, as it is very easy for the dyeing process to felt the fiber.

Where does that leave me for 2025? Well, I would still like to buy no fiber, but I realize that is not a very achievable goal. The challenge for the spinning guild is going to be to finish unfinished objects (UFOs); according to Ravelry, I have about a dozen of those, so perhaps the goal of finishing at least one per month would be doable.

When the owner of a semi-local yarn store (LYS) retired, she said she was going to tackle her "bucket list" of fiber projects. I have a couple of those that are sweater-specific: knit an adult-size Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ), using some acid dyed Cascade 220, and knit a sweater based on one I saw on the cover of the fall edition of the Fun Times (published by the local parks and rec department).

And I think that is good enough. New projects will come along, I'm sure, especially portable ones like socks (see below). There is plenty of fiber activity to keep me busy throughout the coming year.

Knitting: I started a new pair of socks, using some "ice dyed" sock yarn.

My laptop is acting up - it may be a failing video card - so if I am offline for a while, blame technology. Happy New Year!

Three Graham hats

My daughter really likes this style of slouchy hat. She already has several (including a 'Blaze Orange' one in case she is walking in the woods during hunting season), but that doesn't stop her from requesting more. This season, neutrals are "in" so cream, gray, and black were the colors of choice.

Pattern: Graham, by Jennifer Adams
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White' (107g)
Needles: US5 and US7
Modifications: None.

The white one came out kind of large with little drape, so I made some modifications going forward.

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Light Grey' (91g)
Needles: US6 and US8
Modifications: Decreased the circumference by one pattern repeat (16 stitches) while using the length for the "large" size

The gray one came out better. One more version.

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Shetland Black' (87g)
Needles: US6 and US8
Modifications: Also decreased the circumfrence by one pattern repeat, but increased the length a bit.

I asked my daughter to let me know if she likes one version more than the other, but I'm guessing she won't be able to tell much difference. I'm the one who is being picky.

My 14-year-old granddaughter will probably borrow these, as she is becoming more and more fashion conscious these days. In fact, one of her requests for xmas was a subscription to Vogue (and not Teen Vogue). At her age, I was reading Tiger Beat.

Hats off!

All the Graham slouchy hats are done, and the Gisella hat/cowl/earband is drying. That is all the hats I am knitting for the holiday season. Well, except one for moi, which I will start sometime before the end of the year.

The only handmade item left is a scarf for my SO. It's warped on a rigid heddle loom. I just have to buckle down and do the actual weaving. Then I will probably edge it in single crochet.

This is all I am going to write for now, as xmas is at my house AGAIN. I thought I might get out of it this year, but no. I have a few things to attend to in the next several days. Happy holidays!

Program list

Over the past few years, the gestalt of the local spinning guild has changed. As many of the "old guard" aged, a leadership vacuum developed which has been filled by newer, younger members who don't know the history of the guild and who aren't attached to the old ways of doing things. Instead of socializing and show-and-tell, they want programs. Fine.

Those programs have been somewhat... I don't want to say lame, so let's say not all they could have been. I had a couple of ideas that I thought "they" should do, then decided maybe I should just take charge, at least for the coming year. Needless to say, the leadership was more than happy to hand that responsibility over to me.

After soliciting ideas and lining up presenters, here is what I came up with:

• January: Sometimes the weather causes this meeting to be cancelled, so a show-and-tell with the theme "Using leftovers", plus a yarn exchange (rehome your leftovers) seems flexible.
• February: Travelogue. One of our members spent some time in Austria this past summer and is eager to share her experiences.
• March: Knitting, specifically sock knitting. Another member and I will share our sock knitting wisdom; members will be encouraged to wear their handknit socks and we'll have a sock fashion show.
• April: Hands-on spinning lesson, in chain-plying, with "coaches" on hand to help out.
• May: Judging fiber, in preparation for encouraging members to enter their fiber projects in the county fair.
• June: Animals, specifically raising silk worms, which is a hobby of one of our members.
• July: Annual picnic, show-and-tell with the theme organizing fiber; sell, swap, and/or give away tools and fiber and FO's.
• August: Dyeing, specifically plant fibers; hands-on tie-dyeing of tee shirts
• September: Fiber prep, specifically blending; hands-on drum carding, blending boards, etc.; fiber exchange.
• October: Making money with fiber - festivals, retail, Etsy, etc.
• November: Hands-on holiday craft (TBD)
• December: Holiday party and gift exchange

I also want us to have a challenge for the year: finishing unfinished objects (UFOs). Maybe we can share those at the November meeting.

Knitting: Finished 'Graham' number three, and that's about all I can stand of that pattern. I started 'Giselle', a hat that can also serve as a cowl or an earband.

Spotted in the wild:

Now THAT is a useful bit of crochet!

Handy ma'am (sort of)

At some point, my 10-year smoke detector decided time was up. It must have been when I was not home for an extended period of time, because I had no idea there was a problem until it began to act strangely. At first, I thought it was okay, as it responded appropriately to a manual test. A week later, it was mute. (Note: one is supposed to periodically test one's smoke detector by pressing the button on it. I had never done this. Shame on me.)

So I purchased a new 10-year smoke detector, thinking I could take the old one down and use the same bracket to mount the new one. Alas, sometime in the past 10 years, the manufacturer changed the bracket design. I took down the old bracket and discovered holes in the wall where an even older smoke detector had once been, holes that did not line up with the holes in the new bracket. *sigh*

I left everything sitting on the breakfast bar for about a week before deciding if I didn't act soon, there was going to be yet another newspaper article about a house fire where everyone died because the smoke detector was non-functional. Today I got out the drill, installed the new bracket, attached the new smoke detector, TESTED THE SMOKE DETECTOR, and now we are all safe.

Now I need to get hold of some spackle, and patch and paint where the old smoke detector was.

I wasn't as successful installing a portable, motion-activated light in my clothes closet. Can't win them all.

Knitting: I finished another slouchy hat, and my pattern modifications worked pretty well. I started a THIRD slouchy hat, plan to repeat the modifications, but will make the ribbing a bit longer.

Yesterday's spin-in at the Little House of Spinning was fun, or more fun for me, as there were fewer people there. When there is a big crowd (and by big, I mean about a dozen people), multiple conversations are going at once. My little AD/HD brain gets overloaded and I go home exhausted. Seven (plus or minus two) are about the right number.

Another holiday down

My easy-peasy Thanksgiving day was a bit of a FAIL for the most part. While heading out to sweep the front porch, I noticed what looked like a leaf by the door that turned out to be POOP. I cleaned that up and inspected all my shoes, but ended up Crosswaving the entire house. The meat for the pot roast was so lean that it came out dry as a bone, and there was no fat for gravy. To top it all off, every one of the pets managed to puke somewhere. At least my SO's pie was delicious.

Knitting: Finished Bigfoot's socks. Finished one slouchy hat, but it came out kind of large with little drape. For the second one, I dropped a pattern repeat while moving up a needle size to see if that works better.

I have to laugh whenever I see the word "tablescape" on the Internet. The horizontal surfaces in my house are almost always cluttered, usually with fiber projects of one sort or another.

I did clear off most of this coffee table mess Thursday morning, and the dining room table as well so we had somewhere to eat. Since I will be focused on knitting xmas gifts for the foreseeable future, I hope both remain relatively clear until the holidays are over. (HA!)

All knit, all the time

The holidays are coming, so I am focusing on handknits as gifts. My son and his girl friend each get a pair of socks, my daughter and granddaughter will be receiving slouchy hats, and I hope to have my SO's replacement scarf finished by then. Meanwhile, everything else will sit on the back burner.

Crochet: The second Emotional Support Chicken is done except for the piecing. In search of an easy pattern my granddaughter could work on independently, I started a double crochet cowl as an experiment; it looks like a contender.

Knitting: Bigfoot's socks are done but for the weaving of the ends. Slouchy hat number one is underway.

Last week I forgot to mention some sock yarn I purchased at Three Moons Fiberworks in Chesterton. It's ice dyed, a process that separates the individual colors that make up acid dye. I'm hoping it looks nice knitted up, not like camo.

And at the owl expo, I bought this Japanese knot bag from a vendor. By placing yarn inside and slipping one handle into the other, a knitter can be mobile while knitting. This would be useful when I am knitting in public but don't want to put my tote bag on the floor. It's also handy for car knitting.


I'm taking it (relatively) easy on Thanksgiving: pot roast (with potatoes, carrots, onions) and crescent rolls. My SO is baking a pumpkin pie. It will be a quiet day. Hope you enjoy yours.

Out and about

This past weekend, we had a family gathering in Michigan City (where my son lives), as we do every year around this time of year. Usually, we bring bad weather with us, but this time it wasn't too bad. We hike a bit and sightsee a bit and eat a lot. We do this instead of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

My SO and I visited the Lubeznik Center for the Arts. One of the current exhibits is called "Healers and Dreamers". Savneet K. Talwar is (among other things) a fiber artist and art therapist. These two pieces (one a smaller study of the other) are about the partitioning of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in 1947 after the British left. The red line represents the Radcliff Line, an arbitrary border between the emerging states. The top piece was woven on a Jacquard loom.

One of the interactive elements of the exhibit was created by Rita Grendze. During the pandemic, she sifted through her recently deceased mother's yarn stash and unfinished objects. She created Collective Comfort from these materials.

When I hugged the piece below, I choked up, overcome with emotion. Whether they were internal feelings brought to the surface or the traumas absorbed by the piece itself, I don't know. I just found it a very moving experience.

We also visited the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. Like most local museums, there is a treasure trove of memorabilia, some of it nostalgic for my SO and me.

From farther into the past were uses for human hair.

It used to be nothing went to waste.

Crochet: While the knit version of the Emotional Support Chicken has yet to be assembled, I started on a crochet version.
Knitting: I was hoping to get some knitting done on our trip, but we were rather busy (and I drove). I'm on the toes of Big Foot's socks.

Every holiday season, my daughter requests more slouchy hats. I've noticed that the previous ones have pilled a lot, so I decided to knit some this year from Jamieson and Smith Shetland wool. Shetland wool has many qualities: it doesn't irritate because the fiber lacks guard hairs; it wears well; and it doesn't pill like so many other fibers (merino, I'm looking at you!) A good source for this wool is The Woolly Thistle. Requested colors were "neutral", so I purchased 'Flugga White', 'Shetland Light Grey', and 'Shetland Black'.

The program at last week's spinning guild meeting was about Tunisian crochet. It produces a lovely fabric. This book was the recommended one.

Per usual, I got a little excited about taking on yet another fiber craft. I've calmed down a bit now, but will probably check the book out from the local library to see just what it's all about.

Am I a fiber snob?

I have about ten pairs of black pants in my closet, of various sizes and weights, none of which I wear on a regular basis (like not at all). They are "just in case" I need to wear something besides jeans. Most are polyester, not very warm in the winter.

Once upon a time, one could purchase a pair of wool slacks at a department store. That is what I would like, but finding something that is 100% wool and affordable is nearly impossible. I'm tempted to try sewing a pair... but they would probably hang unworn in the closet with the rest of my "dressy" pants. I'm open to suggestions.

Knitting: Cora the ESC is almost done - just need to put the pieces together and stuff her. Bigfoot's socks are a few rounds from the toes.

And that is about all the fibering I have done this past week. We drove to the Honeywell Center in Wabash to take in an exhibit by one of my fiber friends, and per usual, now I don't feel well. It seems every time we go somewhere, I pick up some fresh germs that leave me feeling low for a day or two. I need a nap.

Road trip to Cranbrook

This past week, my SO and I drove up to Cranbrook Art Museum to see an exhibit by Toshiko Takaezu. The artist is known for her ceramics, but she also was a painter and a WEAVER. In fact, she was besties with Lenore Tawney (who has a cameo piece in the exhibit). We came for the ceramics (which were amazing), but the weaving was icing on the cake.

"Ne (Roots)"
Wool, cotton, linen, silk, and rayon (plain weave, knotted pile, wrapping)

Shades of Sheila Hicks

Lenore Tawney amongst the closed forms (moons)

Crochet: My granddaughter came over for a lesson today, but her attention kept wandering, so I went ahead and worked up most of the body of the jellyfish I am crocheting in parallel.

Knitting: I'm approaching the toes of Bigfoot's socks. Lately, several of my fiber friends have been knitting Emotional Support Chickens, so I started one, using naturally dyed yarn.

Spinning: The Tasman comeback is plied but not yet skeined. I started spinning some Wenslydale Longwool top, but I'm not enjoying it very much.

It is finally getting cool enough for wool socks and sweaters and wraps. (I'm wearing this wrap right now.) I bought several ribbed 100% cotton long-sleeved tops from JCP just for wearing under sweaters. Toasty!

DST is ending - huzzah!

I think it depends on which end of a time zone one lives in as to how one feels about Daylight Savings Time. My brother lives on the East Coast, the east side of the eastern time zone, so he *loves* having extra hours of sunlight at the end of the day. I, however, live on the western end of the same time zone and, being a morning person, miss the early hours of sunshine. Also, those early evenings are a fine time for fibering.

Knitting: I took a break from watching TV for a while, but now I am back at it, which means I am making better progress on Bigfoot's socks.
Spinning: I've been plying the Tasman comeback. I don't recall what my original plan was, but somehow I ended up with three bobbins of various amounts of singles. I three-plied them until one bobbin ran out. Now I am chain-plying the rest.

Chain-ply on left, three-ply on right

I finished frogging the curtain knit from denim yarn and am holding back on the sweater - it's so cute! There has been a pause on crochet lessons with my granddaughter due to scheduling conflicts. And the weaving was put on hold while I purchased a new car. What an ordeal! I hope that is the last car I ever have to buy.

A-frogging we will go

I'd like to make more artisan market baskets out of cotton, as I have a lot of cotton AND several items knit from cotton that could be frogged. One item, or rather, items, are the pieces from a pair of knit dungarees that never reached final assembly. Those have all been frogged. Now I am working on frogging a curtain that hung in my bath for a while, long enough for the side facing the window to fade. There is also a sweater I knit for my granddaughter that she never wore. All that denim yarn could be recycled into market bags... someday. But first, one must frog.

Crochet: I decided instead of crocheting a whole rug, I would crochet a swatch. In other words, I stopped once the "rug" reached an 8" diameter and threw it in the wash to see how much it would shrink.

8" diameter before washing

7" diameter after washing

I had to stretch and flatten the piece while it was still wet, then weight it down with a heavy plate to get it flat again. I'm not so sure this design would work for a rug.
Knitting: I made some progress on the socks while sitting through my granddaughter's piano lesson.
Spinning: The Tasman comeback is all spun. Now I have a fair amount of plying to do.
Weaving: The scarf is tied on and ready to be woven.

This past week it was cool enough to wear wool sweaters... for a few days. Now it is back to short-sleeved tee shirts. I am so done with summer and summerlike weather.

Startitis

Lately I have had the urge to start a LOT of fiber projects. Despite being retired, I have only so much time and energy. What I really need is some finishitis.

Crochet: The lessons with my granddaughter continue. I've been working on a jellyfish pattern from a book to get a feel for how to do the one she likes. I also tried to start a crochet rug, but it's not going well.

Knitting: I worked on the socks at the recent spinning guild meeting.
Spinning: Yet *another* spin-in, this time with a group of friends; I worked on the last of the Tasman comeback.
Weaving: Started warping a log cabin scarf on the SampleIt for my SO.

I volunteered to help with the 2025 programs for the spinning guild. My motives are questionable - there are several programs I think we should do and the best way to see that they come to pass is to get involved in the planning. No one is objecting, though.

Disappointment

One of the spinning guild members brought samples of yarn dyed with amaranth to a meeting. It was pink! So I had to give amaranth a try.

I grew the plants myself (seeds ordered from Pinetree Garden Seeds). But instructions for the dyeing process itself was skimpy. None of my dye books mention it, and only a few online sources have anything to say about it.

I went with a cold water dye bath, which produced a promising color. I tried some alum-mordanted yarn (alum added to the dye bath instead of pre-mordanting the yarn), some rhubarb leaf-mordanted yarn, and some unmordanted yarn. The yarn soaked for over 24 hours.

The alum mordant produced a lilac color, no mordant resulted in pink, but the rhubarb leaf mordant seem to mask any color change.

Alas, the color is already fading, especially the pink. I may give it another try, as from what I read, amaranth is a rampant self-seeding plant. I doubt I will get anything less fugitive, though.

Crochet: My granddaughter and I are continuing her lessons. I think next time, we will be able to start the project that is her end goal (photo below). I started one from a similar jellyfish pattern to get the idea, plus a fiber friend helped me with how to do some of the details.

Dyeing: See above.
Knitting: The heels are turned on the Bigfoot socks.
Spinning: Thanks to a spin-in on Saturday, I finished spinning the maroon merino top.
Weaving: I dragged out the Ashford SampleIt loom and am playing with color combinations for a scarf for my SO. I am also adding to the circular weaving project that has been "resting".

This past weekend was a fiber-filled one. Besides the spin-in on Saturday, both the spinning guild and weaving guild demonstrated various fiber arts at the downtown branch of our local library system, in honor of Spinning and Weaving Week. We always enjoy these events, but have some ideas to make them more fulfilling in the future. The spinning guld members wore their tee shirts; we are working on getting some for the weaving guild as well.

Mostly cotton artisan market bag

My fiber journey began with crochet, but I haven't "hooked" much in recent years. My granddaughter is interested in learning to crochet, which rekindled my interest. Then a fiber friend crocheted one of these bags, which pointed me in this direction.

Pattern: Artisan Market Baskets, from Crochet Southwest Spirit, by Susan E. Kennedy
Yarn: A Good Yarn (hand painted fingering yarn by Mary Ann Habeeb, superwash wool and nylon); Maysville 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp in 'Tulip' and 'Yellow'; Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton in 'Blue Ice', 'Tropic Breeze, and 'Grape'; Lion Brand Lion Cotton Solid in 'Off White'; Omega Sinfonia in 'Matizado Azules'; Pisgah Peaches & Creme Ombres in 'Spring Meadows'
Hook: L (8.00mm)
Modifications: Handle

The pattern calls for seven(!) yarns to be held together. I have a LOT of odds and ends of yarn from various projects, so this seemed like a good way to use some of them up. To start, I pulled both ends from the cake of A Good Yarn (blue and brown), added the 'Blue Ice' Kitchen Cotton, the Lion Cotton, the Sinfonia (various shades of blue), and the two colors of cotton carpet warp. That made a nice bulky yarn. When I ran out of the 'Blue Ice', I switched to 'Tropic Breeze', and when that ran out, to 'Grape'. Similarly, when the Lion Cotton ran out, I switched to the Peaches & Creme.

A fair amount of effort goes into yarn wrangling, so I had to sit at the dining room table to work instead of curling up on the couch. One problem I had with all that yarn was sometimes one of the fingering yarns escaped. When I noticed it, I backed up to fix it, but I missed several of these loops. Lesson learned. The other problem I had was crocheting makes my hands hurt!

The pattern called for a leather (or leather-like) strap handle, but I went with something I found on a YouTube video. One simply skips 8 stitches, making 8 chain stitches in the process, on either side of the bag. On the next round, crochet 10 single crochet stitches in the loop created by the chain stitches.

The bag is a bit floppier than I expected. Since it consists of all cotton and sock yarn, it is machine washable (theoretically). I wouldn't try to carry a watermelon in it, but it would have worked fine for the baklava I purchased at a recent fair.

At that fair, I chatted up a woman who was selling crocheted boxes. They were much stiffer. Her secret was to crochet around a rope, like clothesline or mop yarn, and to use wool, which locks together better than cotton. I may have to try that someday.

Felted up

This past week I felted the L-Bag and its pocket patch. Initially, I didn't use lingerie bags - MISTAKE. After deciding the fabric couldn't be too felted, I ran it through two hot water agitation cycles with a pair of jeans. The bag has a nice shape to it, but the rectangle is a bit skewed.

Crochet: I finished the artisan market bag - it's a bit floppy; separate post to follow. I met a woman yesterday who makes similar fiber boxes, but she uses wool and crochets around a core of rope, like clothesline. Hers are much stiffer.
Dyeing: As I write, some skeins of yarn are soaking, destined for the amaranth dye pot.
Knitting: Still working on Bigfoot's socks.
Spinning: Still spinning the merino top.
Weaving: Fourth Third wash cloth off the SampleIt loom. I'll explain that later.

The local parks and rec department put an end to our spring fiber festival, instead inviting us to join their new fall harvest festival. I didn't attend last year, but this year demo'd spinning. It's a lot of fun chatting up the visitors, both kids and adults. I spun on my wheel, but the kids could also spin a little yarn of their own on a spindle. Some improvements for next year: have microscopes or some kind of magnifiers so the kids could look at wool fiber and see the barbs. Also, have samples of wool they can feel and SMELL.

Clapotis contest, and some crochet

Have you ever knit a clapotis? The pattern appeared on Knitty.com twenty years ago. To celebrate this popular project, Knitty is offering a clapotis fest contest.
Knitters are encouraged to use yarn from an indie dyer.

I knit one in 2010, from Cascade Pima Tencel, a yarn that has been (rightly) discontinued, as it sheds. I may knit another, maybe from handspun. The deadline is December 1, 2024, so I have some time to decide, as the first one took less than two weeks to knit.

My granddaughter has expressed an interest in learning to crochet(!) I'm so excited, as I have tried to interest her in crafts over the years but to no avail. She wants to be able to make amigurumi animals. We've had one lesson so far: chain stitch and single crochet. Next up will be honing her technique: how to hold the yarn and needle to maintain tension and produce even stitches. I hope she has been practicing.

I stocked up on cheap yarn for her to use.

My granddaughter's interest in crochet has revived my interest in it as well. A fiber friend fed that fire by sharing a photo of two baskets she crocheted from yarn scraps. So, of course, I had to try my hand at a basket myself.

The pattern is from Crochet Southwest, by Susan Kennedy, and is called "Artisan Market Baskets". It calls for seven yarns held together (although any combination that results in a bulky yarn would work). I am pulling both ends from a cake of sock yarn (one of those Why did I buy this?!? purchases), two colors of 8/4 cotton, one color of Lion Brand cotton, Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton leftover from a weaving project, and some varigated Sinfonia mercerized cotton I think I purchased at Tuesday Morning. So mostly cotton, but I think it is impossible to select a bad choice of yarns and colors for this project.

The hardest part is the yarn wrangling. If you look closely at the photo below, near the center you will see a bit of brown sock yarn that I didn't maintain tension on, so there is a loose loop. By the time I noticed it (and several others), I was far enough along I didn't want to go back, but I'm trying to be more careful going forward.

The only other problem with crochet is it makes my hands hurt.

Crocheting: See basket info above. I also started a Woobles penquin.

Dyeing: I cut down some of the amaranth, which is now soaking in tap water in the garage. I plan is to use half with an alum-mordanted yarn, half with rhubarb leaf-mordanted yarn. I hope to soak the rest of the amaranth in well water, which contains a lot of iron. which should produce a different result. Amaranth is not very colorfast, so I am going to dye some test samples as well.

Knitting: Socks progressing. I still haven't felted the L-Bag pieces.
Spinning: I keep looking at the fiber on the spinning wheel, keep meaning to get back to it, but so far no success.

I don't mean to keep harping on swatching, but I started one this past week, to see how two yarns looked together. I didn't have to go far to decide I don't like them knit this way.

I keep looking for a pattern for this rather coarse yarn, but so far no luck.