String + Color

I went over to play at a friend's house last week.  Now, taking time out to play is always a beautiful thing, and doing it with a great friend is even better.  But when the friend is Tina Newton, well, let's just say that Tina knows how to play on a whole other level from most:

"Let's go to the barn and play with dye!" she said. "Okay, if you're going to make me!" I said.  "Go pick out a yarn base."  Were more beautiful words ever spoken?  I pinched myself.  I surveyed the choices:  Socks That Rock (in three wonderful weights), Woobu (wool + bamboo), Marine Silk (seacell with wool and silk)...There is no end to the wonder in string.  I felt like I might have to lay down.  And then I clapped eyes on Silkie Socks That Rock.  It has everything:  The crazy twist of my beloved STR, plus a strand of pure Bombyx silk.  The fluff!  The bounce!  The sparkle of that silk!  I was smitten.  Tina threw piles of it into a bucket to soak...

And then we got out "practice" skeins.  Guess what you get to "practice" on when you play with Tina?  MORE STR.  Lightweight this time.  Tina went straight to the dyepots and picked out three or four, without any hesitation.  She knew exactly what colors she wanted for me.  First we made this:

It's deep, and vibrant, and more than just a little sassy.  But Tina wanted it to be more layered and complicated.

So then we made this one:  

It's moody and mysterious, and super-sexy.  But I said I wanted it to be sparkly, which meant that it needed more light areas.

And this happened next:

This one has just the right balance between depth and sparkle.  And then:

Tina pulled out the Silkie STR and we squirted and squished all the right colors onto all the right places.  I felt a little faint.  And a little bit of what it must be like to be the fabulous Ms. Newton:  This kind of power should not be wielded lightly.

I'm pretty sure the Dyers are going to take over the world.  And when they do, we will all happily do whatever they say, because they know how to make the string beautiful.  And they do it with such generosity and magnificence that the rest of us are just blessed to know them.  

Oh, and in case you're wondering, my very own Blue Moon yarn color is called "Quite Contrary", and you can have it, too.  Just call up and ask for some, on whatever kind of string you like best.  Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Us.
 

All Wound Up

I'm pleased to (finally) announce that the supplemental KAL yarn is on its way to those patient Gentle Readers who need it.  During the course of the skein-winding, I MacGyvered my winder:

This is about the simplest (cheapest) skeinwinder you can get, and I purchased it long ago, before I knew that I would be doing so much yardage measurement of (that's counting, and NUMBERS, if you know what I mean).  So when it came time to wind up hundreds and hundreds of little skeins for the knitalong, I realized it was time to trick out the winder with a counting mechanism.  I found it HERE, and you can, too.  Esoteric consumer electronics, anyone?

I realized eventually that rather than raising the winding mechanism to clear the sensor (which threw off the balance of the winder really badly), I needed to recess the sensor, instead.  Fortunately my last flooring adventure (don't ask) required the acquisition of a chisel set, which I happily put to use.  Damn nice of those Ashford people to make my cheap skeinwinder out of wood, by the way, so that I could do this.  Turns out wood chiselling is kinda fun.

Once the sensor and counter were in place on the base, I mounted the magnet (included with the counter kit) onto the back of one of the winder's arms.  And it didn't work at all.  Recessing the sensor put too much space between it and the magnet to activate the counter.  I added a little wood block under the magnet, to reduce that distance.  It worked!

So now as I wind a skein, the little magnet passes the sensor each time around, and the counter keeps track of how many winds.  Sassy, no?  I love it when a plan comes together. The fact that I needed to wind a million little skeins of yarn, and that it required woodworking to do so, surprises me not a whit.  Just one more service we provide.

 

Dye, Dye Again

I have success to report:

I took another crack at trying to get my skeins the same color.  I don't know why I couldn't just give up on it, but it just got personal, you know?  The great thing about tenacity is that it always yields conclusion.  Not necessarily the one you think you want, but there will be closure of some sort if you refuse to give up.

And no, the two groups are still not perfectly matched, but I have pronounced them close enough to fake it.  I'll alternate rows or something when I knit it.  And this is a way better color than it was to start with.

Lest you think that I have abandoned my KAL yarn fulfilment process to play with recycled sweaters; Fear Not - I give you the following News Flash:

If you live outside the United States, Your supplemental KAL yarn was mailed yesterday, via USPS.

If you live in the USA, in a state not located on the West Coast, your yarn will be mailed today.

If you live in the USA, in Oregon, Washington or California, Your yarn will be mailed tomorrow.

And if you picked up your yarn personally at Knit Night here in Portland, see me tonight - I'll bring the string!

Thank you for hanging in there with me, my knitalong friends - perseverance shall prevail!