vanessarama.net

6:45 AM: wake up. It’s my day off. Yay! Make bloke a cuppa tea, then read in bed while he goes to work.

8 AM: shower. Dress. Turn on computer. Discover Ravelry invitation and immediately take up the offer.

8:30 AM: OMG. Where are all my old project photos?

9:30 AM: Make donation to Ravelry in excitement. Worth every cent!

10:20 AM: Come up for air, realise that dishes are not done and have not had breakfast. Tear self away from screen. Make porridge. In Ravelry-raddled state, forget actions necessary to make porridge and put bowl in fridge instead of microwave. Realise mistake. Feel like idiot.

10:24: Take deep breath, decide to eat porridge and knit a while before going back. Blog about it.

Yes, it is everything I had hoped for and more! I’m vanessarama on there, if you’re lucky enough to have an invite as well.

First, let’s go to the vendors. Given my complaints about the difficulty of taking good sock photos, I decided to get some sock blockers, but they’ve proved elusive. I know the Loopy Ewe has them, but I also knew they’d be large and heavy to post from the US. Then someone on the Melb S’n'B list recommended Natty Yarns. I placed the order, and my sock blockers arrived this week! Here you see them each sporting a single sock whose mate is still a work in progress. Sock Blocker One is demure in a standard 2×2 rib creation in Trekking XXL. Sock Blocker Two sports sexy striped stockinette, which shows off the colours of the Kool-Aid yarn I dyed.

The sock blockers are made of wood, varnished very smooth and fine, with a cute picture of a lamb etched in. They’re bigger than I expected, but that’s because my expectations were out of whack - of course they’re big, they have ankles and calves. Duh. I just hadn’t realised how big a foot/ankle/calf is in flattened mode! They’re fabulous. There were no problems with the transaction and the blockers arrived promptly so I do recommend Natty Yarns for Australian sock blockers - look under ‘Accessories/other’ for the blockers. I think it cost me about $33 including postage, which is a good buy.

Next, Simply Socks Yarn Company, who sent me my latest stash.

Top to bottom: Two skeins Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in ‘Mother Lode’; two skeins ditto in ‘Irving Park’; one skein Schaefer Anne in ‘Scotch Thistle’. The yarn is beautiful - I had been wanting to try Anne for some time, and the Lorna’s comes in such luscious colours.

As for the vendor, I am very happy. I was quite surprised by how quickly the yarn arrived; I think it was exactly seven days, which is damn fast for shipping from the US. The yarns were packed in a little box, just right for the size of the order and well sealed. I will definitely use them again. That’s Simply Socks Yarn Company. Very happy with their prompt, accurate dispatching of my order!

I still have other vendors to try - most particularly the Loopy Ewe. I must admit to being tempted by the idea of free goodies and frequent shopper benefits I’m just waiting till she restocks on some of the yarns I am especially wanting - and she’s also going to be getting Wollmeise, so I think I’ll wait for that too.

I am eager for Ravelry to send my invitation and/or get out of beta testing. I signed up what seems like ages ago; I understand they’re going through them as fast as they can. I hear it’s absolutely wonderful and am itching to get in there; I’m sure it’ll happen! Reports from people who are using it are excellent. The creators have now quit their jobs to work on the site full-time, which means it will be ready all the sooner; I intend to donate to them as soon as I get my invite, because they deserve it. I hope quitting the jobs will be worth it for them

I am on leave this week, and have been spending my time well!

First, here is a pair of Monkey socks:

The yarn is Merino Cashmere Sock from The Knittery. Here’s a closer Monkey so you can see the curvy pattern a bit better:

I love this pattern. I can see why it’s been so popular online; it’s extremely quick and easy to memorise. Once you get into the flow, it almost knits itself and all you have to worry about are heel flaps, heel turns and shaping

My other project during this time of rest has been dyeing.
A while ago, I bought some undyed merino cashmere from The Knittery. I’ve wanted to make my own self-striping yarn for some time. Some US friends were kind enough to send me some Kool-Aid, so I could join the Kool-Aid dyeing frenzy. Here is the journey…

First, you take one skein of innocent virgin yarn:

And you stretch it out into one really long loop:

and soak it in plain water for a while. Next, take some strange bright neon powder which I’m told some people actually drink:

Mix it all up in a saucepan with some water. Soak one section of yarn in it, and dump the rest in another saucepan to bide its time:

Simmer gently until all the dye is soaked into the yarn and there is none in the water:

Then repeat with another saucepan and a different colour:

Rinse and repeat. Just as well you have three saucepans!

Finally, give it all a gentle warm bath to rinse:

And here’s the finished product, knitting up!

The purple is two packets of grape Kool-Aid. The green is two packets of lemon-lime with a hefty dollop of tamarindo to tone down the colour, and the red is two packets of black cherry and one of cherry.

Finally, here’s the latest addition to the stash:

Courtesy of my latest crack dealer vendor, Astrid’s Dutch Obsessions, these are: top row, L-R: Meilenweit Multiringel; Opal, one of the limited “try-outs”; Trekking Pro Natura, which is wool and bamboo fibre. Bottom yarn is Regia Bamboo. The Trekking and Regia are my first bamboo yarns; at first touch, they are extremely soft and light, and the bamboo is very silky. I’m really looking forward to trying them out!