Lime-ish

It is most definitely lime and not the lovely toothpastey shade of mint you see here. I think I 'm going to try for some better pictures and then put this and the purple one on Ebay. I would love to knit me up some lime socks with one of the patterns from Vintage Socks (and I kind of have one picked out), but I don't see me getting around to it any time soon. If I was going to keep one of these, it really should be the purple anyway since I don't have much that would match this green. I guess I could dye something....

And speaking of dyeing, Oakley started out as an indigo plantation (I know, I mentioned it already). I'm really curious about the indigo dyeing process. I've read a little bit about it, but never actually seen it done. There were some 'stray' indigo plants around the plantation grounds, and I was temtpted, but I think I'll settle for a cutting of Mom's. How much does it take to dye about four ounces of yarn anyway?

So I was wondering just what did they spin in Louisiana in the 1800's? It's not as if we have an abundance of sheep running around these parts needing to have thier wool spun so that it can be knitted into warm woolens. (Quick now Jethro, put those mittens on so you don't...drip sweat on my clean floor?) Okay, so maybe they did cotton and flax or something.

It's neat to hear from other knitters in the comments! Especially those rare Louisiana knitters! I've never seen a live one in the wild. I thought they all moved away to where the yarn is anything but acryllic.

Merino

The other white yarn.

But not for long!

I also did one in lime-green (color choice courtesy of The Tot). I don't need any lime-green socks, but still. It wasn't out of the dye pot until after dark last night, so no pictures yet. Trust me, it's bright. Actually, I haven't decided whether to keep these or e-bay them. I really need to work on finishing some of the stuff I already have started. Like the other pair of socks I started Sunday. I started sock #2 of that pair last night, so maybe I won't have that single-sock issue if I work on them both at the same time.

We did a little home-state touring on Sunday and visited the Oakley Plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect. Some of the house sustained water damage from the hurricanes last year which was sad to see. My very favorite room, which was neither water damaged or even in the main house:

Behold! The fiber room! There were (I think) three or four spinning wheels, a couple of skein-winders, a weasel, and a huge loom that took up most of the space in the middle of the room. Oh, and there was yarn. Of course.

Oakley started as an indigo plantation and later abandoned that in favor of cotton. I'm guessing that it was the slaves who would have done the spinning and weaving since at that time those activities were not idle hobbies. I think they do historical demonstrations of spinning here and I'd like to see that. These probably are not old wheels if they are the same used for the demonstrations, but it's still my favorite room. And not that I've ever heard of one until Sunday, but I think my favorite object in the room has got to be the weasel. Doesn't look like much but the concept is kind of neat. It's geared to wind a preset measure of yarn. When it's done, it makes a 'popping' sound. Hence, "Pop Goes The Weasel"! Some of us are more easily entertained than the rest of you. Just leave us be.

There were gardens too. Maybe I'll have time to post some of those pictures in a day or two.

Summer Socks

Finally! A whole pair! See the strange heel thing with that weird seam detail? It's not so bad. I thought it would make them terribly uncomfortable, but they're not. In fact, the only thing I'd do different it maybe make them a little bit longer before decreasing for the toe, and I might would go up a needle size too. They're snug. The opposite stripey thing I can live with, and I think I'm going to intentionally make the next pair not match up. I have reconciled my dislike of that characteristic just because I still really, really, like everything else about the yarn. Okay, pattern specs-Simple Ribbed Socks from Nancy Bush's Vintage Sock book, the yarn is (whast else?) Knit Picks Simple Stripes (don't ask me which color), and I used the same needle size specified in the pattern-US#1's. I did not swatch, therefore, snug socks. Lesson learned. (not really, I started another pair today and did not swatch for those either. yes, they may not fit. this is a hobby. who cares.)

Since I had so much fun with the dyeing, I ordered some more yarn to dye. And this time, there will be laceweight. Yum! Both of the skeins of sock yarn I did last week and put on Ebay are out of the house, so I get to buy some more. I'm thinking about keeping the laceweight. I don't need it, but........it's pretty and I want it!

De-Stash to Re-Stash

Well, I decided that I probably wouldn't get around to knitting up any of the sock yarn I dyed. At least not anytime soon. Or, if I did, I wouldn't get any of my other socks finished. So it's been put on e-bay and should be out of here by Wednesday. Which means..............I get to buy more yarn to dye! WOOO HOOO!

Koolaid Anyone?

Take one sink full of wet wool.

Add you favorite flavor Koolaid and viola! Beautiful, bright colors! I don't really let the Tot drink this stuff, but it sure does make pretty yarn.

This is some merino sock yarn from Knit Picks that I dyed with Koolaid in Lemon-lime, Orange, and Blue Raspberry flavors, and the red one is Black Cherry. I used the directions from the Knit Picks website. I think I'm going to get some more and do some solid green. My solid red actually turned out a little variegated, probably because should have use a bigger pot. But I like it and I think it will make beautiful socks. Makes the yarn smell kind of fruity too. Yum. This is what they look like after getting acquainted with the ball-winder:

Oh, I did say I wouldn't start any new projects until I finished a sock. Well, I finished ONE sock:

And when will I cast on for it's mate? When I get darn good and ready, that's when! I think I'm goin' to finish those backwards stripey things first though. I did call Knit Picks to ask about that little quirk with the yarn winding. It's wound elsewhere before they get it and the only way to really check is to unwind a few feet on each ball and compare them. I think I might put one of the other two on the ball-winder for a little re-winding. The lady I talked to apologized profusely and was very nice, but I assured her that I liked the yarn enough that it wasn't really that big a problem, I'll buy it again anyway. A minor inconvenience, right? (I still say it's a conspiracy against knitters) I do like the randomness of the hand-dyed yarn though, so I might stick with those types more than the so called 'self-striping' ones. (conspiracy)

Conspiracy Against Knitters?

Or just sock knitters? I'm going to go ahead and finish the orangey-blue-yellow stripies, but it's been bugging me all week. I also wondered if it was just an every now and then kind of occurence with the yarn getting put on the winder from the wrong end and maybe it doesn't happen that often. Well, upon a tip (and a hunch that I might not be meant to knit evenly striped socks) checked my other Knit Picks sock yarn. Guess what? Yep, it's true, yarn manufacturers are out to annoy the crap out of anal-retentive knitters who think that it just shouldn't be so difficult to knit one stinkin' pair of striped socks that actually look like each other.

It's a conspiracy. Against knitters. But just sock knitters. I've gotta go call these people. If the phone's not tapped.....

Stop Right There!

I should just frog now and start over.

I'm not sure exactly how this happened except that maybe the second ball of yarn was wound opposite from the first one. And I was so careful to cut the blue in the same places on each ball so that my socks would stripe evenly. I don't think this is good knitting mojo. The different stripes I can live with, but I feel sure that there will be some other stumbling block with this pair.

So far, this one is still going well.

The diamond patterning is slowing me down a bit, but it has a nice effect. Besides, I'd be slow anyway. I also like the short-row heel technique on this one alot better than what was used on the striped socks. I'm hoping to finish this by the end of the week, immediately cast on for the mate, and work dilligently on the Second Striped Sock. I was just thinking how the heels don't really feel or fit all that different on these even thought they look nothing alike. I might could substitute short-row heel shaping on some of the other patterns. I just like the look of it better. But I'll save that idea for later since I do not need to start anything else until I finish a few of these. Or at least finish one.

Consequences

The consequences of procrastination can be heartbreaking. Had I ordered the Black Sock Yarn the day I was given permission to do so, I might have had a chance. As it stands, Knit Picks Essential in black is back ordered until June. If you want to get down to it, I probably should have just sucked it up and cast on for the second one the same day I finished the first. And I might have been able to keep better track of my notes if I hadn't dragged this one single project out for so dang long! Then I would have had two socks just alike and I wouldn't be worried about needing a yarn that will be out of stock for THREE months! (sigh)

At least I got myself a little suprise to play with. First, I will make myself finish a sock. I said one, not a whole pair. A leopard's spots don't change just because he gets wet ya' know.

Stark Raving Mad

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many sock projects she didn't know what to do.
So she checked into a local assylum so people would leave her alone and she could just knit. Besides, her room at the assylum was much bigger than the shoe.

This one needs a mate:

And this one needs to be started, but I haven't even picked a pattern yet, so no rush I guess. Most likely I'll pick another rib pattern that I don't really care for but use because it makes the yarn look good. Oh the things a knitter will do to keep the yarn happy.

The magic hasn't worn off with this one yet, but it's still the first sock. I don't think it shows up that good, but can you see the subtle diamond pattern? It's not glaringly obvious, that's probably why I like it so much.

And then there's these:

I don't think I need to go into a tirade about Black Socks again. So what if I'm getting my new Black Sock Yarn and this jumps into my shopping cart? Or this? I will try to be careful, but who knows what else might end up in my mailbox if I try to just order plain black yarn.