I See Rainbows

I love rainbows and what better month to make a rainbow cowl than the one where gay marriage is (finally) legal in every state in the United States.  It's Purl Soho's Classic Cowl knit with my own handspun yarn.  You can see the details here.  It's a pretty fluffy cowl and it makes me want to either cut my hair short or grow it out so I can pull it up.  Seeing this pattern makes me want to knit a pair of matching socks, which makes me want to plant dye the yarn myself and learn to make self striping yarn.  Oh how crafts can build on one another!

Actually, I am planning on doing more in the way of plant dyeing this summer.  Unlike the previous times I've ventured into plant dyes, this time I tend to make many samples trying out different mordants/modifiers and in general learn before I leap.  Last time I leapt into indigo dyeing, accidentally making my vat double strength (which meant I was rinsing the residual indigo out for days upon days) and tying the yarn too tightly (meaning little bits of undyed yarn remained under each tie.)  It took over our tiny kitchen, as I did it in January, and left me with lots of full skeins of not so great looking yarn.  So, this time around I'm making mini sample skeins with this absolutely adorable sample sized niddy noddy, dyeing in summer when I can do it outside, and using superwash wool so I can rinse vigorously without having to worry about felting.  I also plan to document my process better thus I'm sure you will be seeing my results here on the blog.

This cowl puts me at 4391 meters toward my 5K goal for this year's Stash Dash hosted by the Knit Grillls.  I've got until August 14th to knit a mere 609 meters, but to be on the safe side I better get cracking and start a pair of socks or something.  Hmm...

Joining in with:

Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On

Ginny for Yarn Along

A Year of Projects 2015 - 2016!

   

This is the start of my "A Year of Projects" for July 2015 - June 2016.  What is this all about?  It's a group on Ravelry of bloggers getting together to share progress on their knitting/crocheting/spinning and all around crafting goals throughout the year.  I enjoyed reading others blog posts from last year so this year I decided to get off the bench and join in.  Yay!

Without further adieu here is my proposed list of knitting for this year:

Cowls and Scarves:

Classic Cowl by Purl Soho knit in handspun 

Field of Stars by Amy van de Laar knit in handspun alpaca

Dudester Scarf by Jana Pihota 

Dryad by Jared Flood

For the Home:

Sock Yarn Braided Trivets by Martha Lazar 8 of them

Sock Yarn Braided Rug by Martha Lazar

Socks:

Slip Stitch Heel Basic Sock by Wendy D. Johnson

Simply Elegant Cable Socks by Judy Alexander

Broken Seed Stitch Socks by handepandehttps

Taylor's Orange Toe Up Socks by Jasmyn Cunningham

Sweaters and Vests:

Glen Moir Vest by Luise O'Neill 

White Russian by Thea Colman

Three in One Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Glenfiddich by Annamária Ötvös

Tops:

Astonish Top by Katy Banks 

Jordan by Wendy Bernard

Mittens and Gloves:

Connnectivity Gloves by Mari Chiba

Nordic Mittens by Beth Brown-Reinsel

Double Knit Mittens by Sue Hedgecock

Hats:

A Family Tam by Beth Brown-Reinsel

Ok, now that I write it all out it looks like an awful lot to accomplish, but some are already WIPS which will help (or at least I'll tell myself that.)  It was really fun to figure out what I wanted to knit over the course of a year and surprisingly easy when things like Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries dictate so much of what "needs" to get done as opposed to all my wishful thinking and wants.

What's on the needles currently is the Basic Cowl by Purl Soho using my own rainbow handspun yarn.  The colored wool is plant dyed by this lovely lady and the white is an angora/wool blend I purchased from here.  It's a very simple pattern, but my yarn makes it a bit tricky to keep track of where I am in the 4 row pattern.  In a solid color this would be a snap I think.  I have only a few rows of yellow and the white angora twisted ribbing left to go, which I hope means I'll finish by tonight.  Cross your fingers for me.  

Next up will be some bobbin clearing as I finish spinning some aplaca/angora three ply yarn.  Then I plan on casting on the Field of Stars cowl.  If I have way too much yardage for it I may have to pick another pattern though.

All these projects (listed in no particular order) will be knit with yarn I already have in my stash as I am trying to cut back on my fiber spending.  Oh course when we go to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival I will be making a few purchases, but then I am holding out until Minnesota's Shepard's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival in the Spring of 2016.  Well, hopefully I will be too busy finishing knitted objects to mind.

See ya next week!