Keep those ears warm

Snow, snow and more snow!  The calendar says Spring and April, but the snow on the ground says December!  I’ll be at the Sherburne Master Gardener’s Garden Expo tomorrow, April 13.   I’ll be bringing my new headbands! 

You might need this

I have 3 made of this 100% alpaca yarn that I dyed in purples and lime green. 

More headbands

I also have 2 in grays, one purple and one in blues and pale green, all are 100% alpaca yarn that I dyed.  The snow is supposed to stop for tomorrow!  So come take a gardening class and do some shopping.  The Garden Expo is in Big Lake, MN at the high school from 9 – 3.  We need to prepare for spring, because I think when it comes, it is going to quickly turn to summer!

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Mitten Production Plan

I’ve finished a couple alpaca scarves and want you to see them.

Skinny Red

 

 This is 100% alpaca yarn, that I dyed into this variegated red.   The pattern is rather like a basket weave and very textured.  The scarf is just under 4 inches wide and about 56 inches long.  Nice and skinny to wear in some of those cute knots. 

Muted orange

 This is 100% alpaca yarn that dyed into this pale variegated pink, yellow, orange combination.  The pattern is the common seed stitch which really mixed up the colors nicely.  Just over 4 inches wide and about 52 inches long.

I’ve been trying to ramp up my felted mitten production.  It seemed I never had enough variety of color last show season and was always trying to play catch-up.  My plan:  dye three skeins of one color each day,  the following day knit those three skeins into three pair of mittens, when the seams were finished on a couple colors they could be felted in the same batch. 

First up was blue, but I had a wee problem.

Ready to felt

 I have these two pair ready to felt, but my third skein was a little short.

Blue headband

 So I made a blue headband.

Matching Scarf

 With the remaining yarn, I made a matching scarf.  It still needs to be steamed flat and finished a bit.  Now I think I have the skein weight figured out for mittens!  On to more dyeing.

Pot of red

 Yesterday was the day for red.  For a little variety, I put one skein in first, then half of the second skein and held it in the dye for a short time.  Then I plopped the other half of #2 in and added the third skein.  (It is REALLY difficult to take a photo of a steaming pot!) The skein on the left is darkest, the one on the right is lightest. 

Dye flecks

One of my dyeing instructors calls red dye ‘Difficult Red’ and it is.  As you can almost see above, red dye doesn’t dissolve easily.  I don’t mind as I think the variety adds interest.  But after much cooking, this batch dyed pretty evenly.

On the drying rack

You can see the color variation in the skeins as they are drying.  So while I will have 3 red pairs of mittens, each will be a little different. 

Today was to be the day to dye yellow, but the dreaded taxes have reared their head.  I need to get all the data gathered for the meeting with the tax man!   And a reminder:  I will be at Spring Day this Saturday.  Stop by and do some shopping. 

 

 

A few in the ‘done’ column

These are from the last of the 22 balls of yarn that Adam wound up for me. 

Wrist Warmers

That makes 33 pair of wrist warmers knit from the last batch of yarn.  Many have already sold.  I think I may have enough for the fall craft show season. 

I am trying to use up the last of some of the balls of yarn I have. 

Three headbands

Headbands seem to be the least yarn-consuming item I knit.  So I was able to get these 3 headbands from of my yarn left-overs box. 

I also have 2 pair of mittens knit.   I want to knit 2 more pair, then felt all 4 at the same time.  This makes for better use of the hot water in the washing machine, as well as felting better because the mittens rub against each other during the agitation. 

I have a short reprieve from shows, so I’m working to build my inventory and prepare the garden and yard for winter!  Only a few more days until a hard frost.

What’s new?

Even with the alpaca breeding and the veggie and flower gardens keeping me busy, I’ve had a little time to knit a few things.  

Pretty in pinks

I’ve made a bunch of new wrist warmers.  I have three pair of each of these colors, two pair have the frilly edge, the third with a plain edge.  You can find these and lots more colors in my online store. 

I’ve also used up some smaller amounts of yarn to make headbands.

Bright colored headbands

These are like the one I made for myself and wore from last December until spring.  So warm and snug.   I will soon have these listed in the online shop.  I’m waiting for brighter weather to take the photos.  In the meantime, I will have the new headbands at the farmers markets.

#11 – I’m smitten with these little sets

What can I say?  Another repeat!  This time in pink acrylic from my charity stash.

Pretty in pink

The scarf in fisherman rib, not quite 4 feet long, plus about 4 inches of fringe on each end,  5 1/2 inches wide.  It is over 700 rows and really should be longer.   This rib stitch seems to shrink up to be much shorter than the number of rows implies.  I just think the set is a winner. 

And after a few adjustments to tension, I have a couple headbands completed to my satisfaction out of alpaca.

Headbands of alpaca

I have a friend who will be ‘field testing’ one and I’ll be wearing the other to see how they work out.  Hopefully, I’ll soon be adding some really cute, hand dyed, 100% alpaca headband and scarf sets to my inventory!  What do you think of that?

Headbands! and Scarf #6

I have a new charity project.  Headbands! 

For warm ears

The pattern had 2 sizes.  I made 2 adult in white and 1 child in white.  The yarn called for in the pattern is no longer made, so I adjusted the tension to make the green one.  It is sized between the white ones.  All are acrylic, from my charity yarn stash.  I made one with my alpaca yarn, but it is too big.  I will need to do a few more adjustments to tension and/or stitches to perfect an alpaca headband.   Even being too big, I could really feel the warmth when I wore it around the house! 

Black and white

The headband looks pretty good with my latest charity scarf.  Black and white, 1 x 1 rib with big poofy pom pom-like fringe.   These 2 yarns combine were thinner than the other rib scarves and I loosened the tension, so this scarf is real stretchy and mushy.  About 4.5 feet long, plus 5 inches of fringe on each end, about 6 inches wide.