Dyed in the wool

I just got word that all 3 classes I proposed to Lincoln Land have been taken up so I will be teaching the following classes this fall:

September 19 & 26 - Knitting mittens and gloves
October 10, 17 & 24 - Learning to knit socks by knitting a Christmas stocking
November 14 - Knitting Jewelry Wire & Beads

The catalogue is supposed to be out in early September but if you're interested in one of the classes or know somone who is, you can click here to see the LLCC contact information. To get ready for the mitten/glove class I've been dying yarn. It's a bit of work but it's lots of fun to see how they all come out. Here are some samples of what I've been doing:

I've used a variety of dying methods and dyes including Kool-aid (the red skein in the middle of the 3rd picture), Jacquard dye (blue skein and rose skein in the second picture)from KnitPicks, and Wilton icing dye (for the rest). I love the Wilton dyes because they will often break up and you get really interesting effects. For instance, the skein of aqua and purples in the last picture was done using the Wilton black icing dye. The purple/green/aqua mix in the first skein of the second picture was done by mixing the Wilton black and Wilton teal. I'm never sure exactly what I'm going to get but because the colors have been mixed for a certain effect, you can be sure the colors will blend in the skein. These skeins are all worsted weight yarn but I also need to do a few skeins of fingering weight. The mixtures from today have certainly given me some ideas for other mixtures!

I'm in love

Finished. I know I say it every time but I love this more than anything I've made in a long time. I don't know if it's the crochet, which I have neglected so much over the past couple of years, or if it's the connection to my Grannie, whom I loved and was my best friend, or if it's just the pattern that worked so elegantly from start to finish. Or maybe it was just the whole thing combined together.

From the outside in

I've never made anything like this before from the outside in. The construction has been so fascinating and I've really enjoyed making this. I suspect I'll do another one for me. The pattern writer made the comment that you could use a linen middle or you could crochet it like I'm doing. I think it might be interesting on another one to work it this far or maybe a little further and then use the linen for the middle. At this stage it looks like a flower. My Grannie would have loved this pattern and I love that.

One (almost) down, one to go

I got the knitted part of my knitted 1918 doily finished but now I have to figure out the linen middle. I started on it but can't get it unpuckered so I'll need to start again. Picture's not great but you get the idea.

With that one down, I started on one of the crocheted doilies. This one has 5 medalions that are worked separately and joined then the middle is worked to the very middle. Never seen that before. Each of the medalions has a rose in the middle - my Grannie's favorite pattern. She loved roses. I have to say I'm really enjoying crocheting this doily. I haven't crocheted anything for a long time and I'd been having a hankering to start a project. Here's progress so far: