It Doesn't Even Look Like a Fish

This past week I finally quit procrastinating and started dealing with my moth problem. That means there's been a lot of a yarn everywhere. It's on the living room floor in organized piles, double bagged and stuffed in the freezer, and, of course, in the microwave. It's nice to have it out of storage, but I think Mom and Dad are getting tired of it, but I think they understand.

While inspecting the yarn, I saw at least one ball with frays like I found before. I see specks on some of the yarn, but given the state of my apartment at one point, it's very likely that they're just pieces of lint.

I've come up with my own method for dealing with the infestation based on the information I found online. I've been focusing on animal based fibers, since they attract moths.

I choose yarns to freeze based on how much I care about them (all my handspun is being frozen), how expensive they are and how likely they are to have pests.

With the freezing, I'm going with three days in, three days out and three days back in. Everything I've read said it's waste of time to freeze if you only do it once. The second freeze gets the larvae.

The rest of the protein-based fibers are microwaved for 10 to 30 seconds. I'm taking out staples, and I'm being careful not to out in the acrylic blends for too long.

I'm cleaning the tubs themselves with vinegar and water. Then I'm making sure everything is in plastic bags before it goes back in the tub, along with some cedar chips.


I found what I assume are cobwebs on the outside of one of the tubs. I don't know if this helps identify the problem, but I thought I'd share.


I'm not sure what this is. I've been taking the tubs outside to clean them with the water hose. This was still stuck to the inside of one of the tubs after the first rinse. I saw something like it stuck to the outside of the wrapper of my Magic Ball from the late Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe.

It could be a piece of a moth, but I think it might be a baby silverfish. Mainly because I saw a grown-up silverfish crawling around the same tub while I was sorting through it. I didn't have my camera on hand, but it looked like this. I'm very confident of my identification.

Everything I've read says it's unlikely that silverfish would eat yarn. However, I've seen silverfish in other boxes that had been in storage at the same storage place.* But now that I've actually seen them in the yarn, I'm considering the possibility that they are causing the problem. The good news is that what kills and repels moths also kills and repels silverfish.

The problem is that silverfish tend to be attracted to cotton and linen. Like the cotton and linen I didn't bother to microwave. Crap.

However, moths are still a possibility. All the frays I found were in wool yarn,and the owner of the storage place advised us to put moth balls in the storage unit. I can thank Dad for actually taking the initiative to do this. Perhaps we waited too long to change them out.

I still refuse to put moth balls inside the tubs with my yarn.


Who wants some piping hot yarn?

* - We've moved units a couple of time depending on how much space we need.

From De-stash to Me-stash

Saturday morning I went to Emily's Destash Sale, and I made a haul.


Here's Emily with the cash box. All the stuff at the sale belonged to her, her Mom and her sister.

I was the only knitter when I came by. Emily said a bunch of knitters came right when they opened at 10. Several other random people swung by while I was there, although I think most of them weren't expecting so much yarn.


Let's start with what I didn't buy. I didn't even get a good look at the knitting machine. I didn't want to make Emily pull it out when I knew I couldn't buy it. Besides, it would have been way too tempting. I also passed on the combs, even though they were a good deal. I managed to leave behind some vintage Patons and some wonderfully eighties (maybe seventies) Dazzleaire. Those would have been worth it for the labels alone.


Emily also had some very reasonably priced sock yarn.


I did leave with some of this stuff. I'm not sure exactly what type of yarn this is, but it's from Estonia, apparently. It's kind of scratchy, but the colors were beautiful. When Emily said it was like Kauni, I was sold.

After much debate, I filled my box and left. Here is the yarn I ended up with:


The yarn on the left is Rellana Luna yarn, a self striping wool/acrylic blend with a Noro feel. The middle yarn is Filanda Supersport, a very practical wool/acrylic blend that will be great for baby knits. On the right is my Estonian yarn, of course.

I got some non-yarn stuff as well, including Ecospun, a fiber made out of old plastic bottles, a shawl pattern and a wonderfully retro copy of Knitter's magazine from 1992. I think the magazine was worth the dollar for this old Lily Chin pattern alone.

And of course, there was this:


A fully functional loom for $2. Of course, it's plastic, designed for kids and missing the accessories and directions. But for $2 I can figure it out.

I can't wait to get weaving!

(All my pictures of the destash sale are here.)

Knitting, knitting everywhere, but not a stitch to knit

I've been in a bit of a knitting funk since I finished the One Day Beret. I have several WIPs on Ravelry, but none quite have mojo at the moment.

I was in the hospital when the latest Knitty came out, so I don't think I ever took a good look. But now that the surprises are out, I'm dreaming about sweaters again. I'm in love with the Montera coat.

This has happened before. I haven't even bought the yarn for Morrigan, and it's been a year and a half. Also, it's been a year, I haven't gotten past the swatch for Candy. (I finally moved it to "hibernate" in Ravelry.)

But this may be it. I may finish this one. The gauge is 3.5 stitches per inch, so even though it's long, it shouldn't be too terribly slow.

In my diminished financial state, my yarn choices are limited. I'd love to use Dream in Color Groovy, but I can't afford it. I'm thinking KnitPicks Swish Bulky or Valley Yarns Colrain. I'm leaning towards Colrain because the tencel should add some strength.

I'm even considering Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, but I'm wondering if I really want to commit to a project this big in 80% Acrylic. At least I like Wool Ease Chunky.

However you slice it, I'm going to have to wait until I start. I'm not going to order a sweater's amount of anything before I swatch.

In the meantime, I'll be looking at my WIPs. Or at least free patterns and my own stash.

Plying the Cookie Monster Yarn

This yarn has been all about the Om Nom since the beginning. My sister saw the singles I wound, and she was the one who said they looked like little Om Noms. (See them sans Om Noms here.)


Even an alligator got in on the Om Noms.


Thanksgiving Day I plied the Cookie Monster Yarn. It looks like it's going ok here, but plying was not easy. Just like when I wound the singles, I ran into a lot of tangles and breaks.

(Sorry about the sideways movie.)


Here is one of the tangles. (Yes, that's the UT vs A&M game in the background. Everyone else is watching while I ply in the kitchen.)

There's another picture of a tangle here.


Here is the yarn all plied and on the bobbin. It doesn't look like much, but I think it went pretty far for just one ounce.


Overall, there weren't too many inconsistencies.


Here is the almost finished yarn, although. It's about 104 yards of Merino/Tencel. I haven't measured the Wraps Per Inch yet, but I'm guessing it's lace weight, maybe light fingering. And it still reminds me of Cookie Monster. (Maybe Cookie Monster with braids?)

All I need to do now is set it.

I'm the OmNomNom Nom of the day!

I'm the OmNomNomNom of the day! Check it out.

Tuesday (or Wednesday) Tens: Ten Gifts I'd Like To Get From Etsy

Last year I took the Handmade Pledge, and this year I'm keeping it going. If you want to get a gift for me (or yourself) here are some ideas.

1. Knitting Needles by Chelle.
I've been drooling over these for a long time. They have several with initials, and I also like the ones with funny sayings like "Knit Wit," "Knit Picky" or "In Deep Knit."

2. Handpainted Yarn from Yarn Oddities.
Beautiful, vibrant colors.

3. A Glass Knitting Pendant like this one from Chauncey Design.
This design always sells out quickly, but they usually restock it. Squidglass also has a nice selection of knitting related pendants.

4. Jewelry made from knitting needles from Saving Nine Creations, Sassafras Creations or Liana Kabel.
Saving Nine has earrings made from the very tips of metal needles that have the needle size, Sassafras uses both ends for earrings, necklaces and more (I think The Knitting Nest carries their keyrings) and Liana Kabel has bangles made out of needles.

5. Novelty Batts from Loop or Terra Bella Spun.
I have one from Butterfly Girl Designs already. After I get better on the wheel, I plan to dig into the novelty batts. I'm excited about spinning novelty yarn.

6. Art Yarn from Bugtussle Yarn.
See number 87 on my list. There are so many to choose from, but Bugtussle seems to have the wildest and weirdest. Bees Knees Knitting, Felt Studio, Pancake and Lulu, Snowberry and Lime, Ozknits and Weird & Twisted also have great selections of art yarn.

7. A Ginormous Knitting Bag from Actual Size Creations.
One of the few bags I've seen that looks like it would fit everything.

8. Alphabetical Stitch Markers from Hide and Sheep.
Sooner or later I'll dig into my Cat Bordhi Book. When I do, these will help.

9. Roving from Zen Yarn Garden.
Must Keep Knitting also has some pretty roving.

10. Knitter's Giftdex from Knit.
You want something nest year, don't you?

Mooching at The Knitting Nest

Last weekend when I went home to mooch off Mom and use her wheel, I also made a trip to The Knitting Nest to mooch off Stacy and use her yarn meter. As you can see, they're celebrating their victory.


The shop had several new yarns, including Queensland Collection Tahiti, Elizabeth Austen Andes and Rozetti Baby Soft. However, the Baby Alpaca Chunky Paints was my favorite new yarn. It's soft, pretty and makes for a quick knit.


Of course, I had plenty to do with my own yarn. Here's my Coopworth Single. I now know I have about 251.66 yards (or 755 feet.)


Remember my two-ply merino? I have 202.33 yards of it (or 607 feet.)


Then it was time to measure the Cookie Monster Single I had a lot of problems with it breaking. I may have spun it a little too fine.


I had 208.66 yards (or 626 feet) total.


The hardest part was spinning from the ball so I could have to singles to ply together. Each single is about 104.66 yards (or 314 feet.) Not bad for one ounce of fiber.


Did I mention that I got to spin on Stacy's wheel? It's an Ashford. I'm not sure if it's a Traditional or an Elizabeth.


Somehow, the wheel has both Scotch tension and a double drive band. I'm not sure exactly how that works. I think you can decide which one to use.

I'm starting to think I'm an Ashford person.

You can see all my pictures from my last trip to The Knitting Nest, including more spinning wheel photos, here.

That's one way to use leftover yarn...

Emily's Birthday Paty

Sunday night, Emily celebrated her birthday in style, and I got to join her. Everyone met at Gauge for lots of good food, nice decor, yarn and Wallace and Gromit.


Here's the birthday girl, with the yarn I gave her. It's a skein of Wild Thang Triptek from Heritage Arts. The yarn is 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon and 2% Silver. Yes, that's silver, as in the metal. I got it at Kid 'n Ewe. (I got a skein for me too. Mine is blue and purple.)


Emily had the best party favor of all - yarn. She asked everyone to bring some to swap. I actually wrapped mine, but the swap turned out to be much less formal. Everyone added to the pile and took some away. I put in a skein from the never-ending recycled sari silk. (Emily chose that skein.) I got a partial skein of handspun yarn by Robincat (on the left) and a skein of Opal Sock Yarn (on the right.)

You can see some of the fancy food behind the yarn. There was lots of good food, like fancy meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, bread, dips, olives and Emily's handmade Gelato for dessert. (This time she had blood orange flavor. Yum.)


Ceci came along with the new baby. She put pictures of the party on her blog as well. You can see a picture of me looking way too serious about my food over there.


Of course, we can't have a party without Cheva.


While we were watching Wallace and Gromit, we each knit a ring for Emily's Christmas garland. Emily brought her sock yarn scraps and some size three needles. (Luckily, I had my Size 0s, because my gauge is loose.) It's a very simple pattern, and I think Emily plans post it online.


Here's my finished ring. I did mine in the round. They have enough rings knit on straights to connect them, and having a couple in the round will probably save them time.

You can see all the pictures I took at the party here.

Tuesday Tens: Ten vignettes from Kid 'n Ewe that don't have pictures to go with them

Friday night I spent the night with my parents so I'd be closer to Boerne for Kid 'n Ewe in the morning. Saturday morning I realized I'd left my camera in my apartment. I borrowed my parents' camera, but when I got to Boerne, I realized the battery was dead. I contemplated going to find some fun saver cameras at a gas station. In the end, I decided to save time and money and just enjoy my time at Kid 'N Ewe experience without stressing about taking pictures.

So I don't have pictures, (the one above is just of my loot), but I do have some stories. Here are ten "vignettes" from Kid 'n Ewe.

1. The ladies from Heritage Arts were awesome! They had several spinning wheels in their area, and they let me try them all. They were very friendly and helpful. If I had my camera, it would have been easier to keep track of the different wheels. I know I didn't care for the itty bitty wheels. I was really hunched over on one of them. They said tall people don't like the little ones, but it doesn't get much shorter than me. I guess you have to learn to lean back. Ultimately, I liked the Ashford that looked like my Mom's. I'm about 90% sure it was an Elizabeth. The difference was this one had a Scotch tension system instead of a double drive like my Mom's Ashford. (The group from Heritage Arts explained the difference.) I think I may be an Ashford person, but I'm not certain at this point.

2. Speaking of wheels, Wyatt Wheels was there. I got to try their wheels as well. I could see myself with a Wyatt Wheel. (Although I couldn't see myself paying for one.) I also got to try one of their Charka wheels. The Charka had a big spindle on the side. After spinning for a while, you have to wind the yarn back on the spindle. However, it takes less time than a drop spindle, because you have more control of the wheel with the hand crank.

3. I also tried the Schacht Ladybug. The Weavery at Indian Meridian had one. I asked if I could try it. I didn't realize that it had been sold, but the lady who bought it let me try it anyway. (Thank you random person for letting me try your brand new Ladybug.) It was ok, but I think I'm more of a single treadle person.

4. I heard an alpaca crying. Well, maybe. It didn't look distressed. It was eating hay and hanging out, but making this sort of "maaa" sound as it ate. It was weird. (You had to be there.)

5. Hokett Would Work was back, and they had mini loom kits for sale. They were the perfect size for making potholders, and the kits included all the tools, some yarn and instructions. They had some of the individual looms fancier wood, but Hokett said he made the ones in the kits with a less expensive wood so people could get everything they need at an affordable price. I'm tempted to get one. (Hokett doesn't have a website, but you can e-mail him to ask about ordering.)

6. Hill Country Alpacas was back. I bought another skein of their yarn. This one was from "Escondidos Shadow," and it was lighter in color. I may mix it with the yarn from Stonewall Jaxon, or I might not. (Or I may keep buying a skein every year until I can make an entire blanket or sweater.)

7. I wish I had taken notes when I stopped by Buffalo Gold. They explained how they got the fiber. (They don't shear the bison. It involves an enzyme bath of some sort to remove the fur from the hides. The hides are leftover from getting the bison for their meat.) They also invited me to join The Herd on Ravelry.

8. I saw some fiber dyed with real Indigo. I didn't actually do it, but I got to see the finished product. I may pay to do it myself if they offer it next year.

9. This year I avoided raw fleece. Last year I had this thing against roving for some odd reason. I wanted to make rolags instead. Now I know that I like roving. It's my friend. (And I don't have to worry about preparing it.)

10. I learned an important lesson about fiber. After getting to touch and feel all the fiber, I realize how much the dyeing process can affect the feel of the fiber. In several instances the dyed fiber was much courser, and seemed a little felted. (Or in the case some plant fibers, just stuck together.) I now realize how much fiber can vary, even if it's coming from the same type of plant and animal.

Yarn that makes me want to Om Nom Nom Nom!

After everything that happened last week, I did make it to Kid 'n Ewe. Unfortunately, my camera didn't. I'll have more on that later.

For now, I've already started spinning some of the fiber I bought.


Does this shade of blue look familiar?


That's right, the originator of the Om Nom Nom Nom himself. Cookie Monster's exact fur color seems to vary, although I'm not sure if his actual fur has changed over time or if it's just the quality of the film. Either way, I saw this batt and thought of him. It's so fuzzy and blue.

Anyway...


This is one of the merino/tencel batts that Spinning Straw Into Gold had for sale. Spinning Straw Into Gold's main focus is spinning fur from dogs and cats. But at Kid 'n Ewe Christine had batts for sale in a rainbow of colors. And I couldn't resist the Cookie Monster blue.


I was itching to spin when I got home, and I decided the Cookie Monster batt was a good place to start. This is a piece of the batt, pre-drafted and ready to go. You can see that the Tencel adds some shine. It's very soft and silky. It'd be nice if the real Cookie Monster was part Tencel.


Here's the yarn on the drop spindle. (Sorry for the blurry shot.)


I'm spinning the yarn pretty thin. It drafts very easily. I'll probably ply it, so this is a look at what it may look like completed.


Here's what I've spun so far.

I've had fun looking at at old Cookie Monster clips on YouTube. I found a clip of Cookie Monster before he was Cookie Monster, a disturbing clip of Martha Stewart getting sadistic pleasure out of torturing Cookie Monster and Cookie Monster setting the record straight on the Colbert Report. You can see all the clips I found here.

I'll leave you with Cookie Monster's interview on NPR.

Tuesday Tens: Ten Dye Baths Good Enough To Drink (Though I Wouldn't Recommend It)

After my recent dyeing experience, I'm starting to think about other dyeing possibilities. And since I'm an amateur, sticking with non-toxic dyes may be a good way to go if I'm going to to be experimenting. I'll be sure to avoid explosions. (Hopefully.) Here are ten edibles that can be used to dye yarn.

1. Tea - There hasn't been much written on dying with herbal tea (or at least as far as I have found.) But there has been some written about dying with black tea. There is a good tutorial on KnitPicks and another one here.

2. Coffee - You can't have tea without coffee, right? Re-Nest lists dyeing as one use for coffee grounds. This blogger dyes with coffee all the time. I also found this tutorial.

3. Beets - I wonder if there's a way to make a dye bath, then eat the beets. There's a tutorial here that talks about using canned beets as a possibility.

4. Turmeric - Turmeric is a spice right? (Can you tell I don't cook?) Anyway, there is a good tutorial on instructables, and the color is gorgeous.

5. Blackberries - Blackberries are too expensive to just use for dye. Maybe I can make some sort of dessert with the leftovers? It's beautiful, though. (Check out this tutorial.)

6. Juice - Grape juice is the one that comes to mind. (It's the one that stains, afterall.) However, I imagine other juices will work as well. (I found a grape juice dyeing tutorial.)

7. Onions - I hate onions. Blech. But onion skins make a pretty yellow. (Lion Brands has a tutorial.)

8. Cabbage - I like the color of purple cabbage. I found this blog entry where they actually ended up with blue, not purple.

9. Food Coloring and Easter Egg Dye - They aren't quite food, but they are edible. Perhaps safer than some of the others, because you don't have to add any unsafe additives. The best tutorial ever on the topic, including microwave instructions, is here.


10. Kool Aid (or a generic equivalent) - I saved the best for last. How can you talk about dyeing with food grade dyes and not mention Kool Aid? In case you haven't heard, Kool Aid dyes yarn very well. (There's a reason why it's so hard to get the stains out.) I dyed the yarn above with Kool Aid and Hawaiian Punch. Knitty has an excellent tutorial, and there's even a color card online.

Is this pink?

My sister works at Starbucks, where she's become very familiar with with Tazo tea. She gets a fair amount for free. In fact, she was the one who suggested dyeing yarn with Tazo Passion Tea, a deep pink tea. I snagged a few bags from her, and yesterday I gave it a shot.

I read up a little bit before I got started, but basically I winged it. There is a little bit on tea dyeing out there, but not much on herbal tea dying.


I filled a pot with water, and when the water was almost at a boil I put in four of the Passion Tea bags. I clipped it on the side of the pot with a paperclip to make it easier to take out later.


After steeping for about ten minutes, I took out the tea bags. You can see that the color is pretty deep at this point. According to the Tazo website the main ingredient in Passion is Hibiscus, which explains the deep color. There are also rose hips and red poppy, which I imagine are red or pink, but I don't know how much they affect the color.


I added about four or five "glugs" of vinegar to the dye bath. (I think it's supposed to help the dye set.) Then I put in the yarn. I used one skein of KnitPicks Bare Merino Sock.


Here it is after "simmering" for about half an hour. It was still pretty pale, so I decided to let it sit for a while. Overnight, actually.


This is what I had when I came home from work today, nearly 24 hours after I started dying the yarn. It's pretty pale, but from this view it still looks pink.


This is the first rinse.


Here is the final rinse with some Eucalan.

Which leaves one question...


Can I call this pink at all?

When my sister recommended, she talked about a bright pink. When I made myself a cup of tea, I was expecting something not so much bright, but deep. Magenta, sort of. During the dye process, I expected baby pink. But now that it's all rinsed and done, I don't know if I can call this pink at all.

This was sort of a test skein. I was going to sell it at the Fiber Friends Festival. If I liked it, I was going to make a bunch. While this isn't bad, it's barely dyed at all. It looks almost off white. I took several shots with and without flashes to show how different the color looks in different lights. Can I even sell this as dyed yarn? I guess I could always overdye it.

I don't know if there is anything different I can do to get the tea to dye the yarn a deeper color. I could add more tea bags, but after almost 24 hours, the yarn hadn't exhausted the dye bath. Would more tea really help?

I also wonder what would happen with regular Hibiscus tea. The passion tea also has licorice, cinnamon, lemon grass, citric acid and "natural flavors." I don't know if those made a difference. The cinnamon is probably what made it a little on the brown side.

Any advice is welcome and ideas are welcome.