Dyleot madness

Here I am, just knitting away on my first project.  I began winding the 2nd ball of the Mini Mochi and noticed that things just did not look the same.  I mean the colors were very different.  I grabbed the labels to verify that they were the same colors. And yup all three were color #105.   But the dye lot on one was different.

I didn't verify the dye lots when I purchased them or before I started this project...duh!

What are dye lots, you ask?  Dye lots are used to indicate the batch that the yarn was dyed in.  Why does this matter if you are using the same colors for dyeing. To insure that colors are uniform across the skeins of yarn, they are dyed on batches.   There are many factors that can affect the dying process, such as temperature, dying time, the phases of the moon, the groundhog seeing his shadow...yada, yada, yada.  (When I started dying yarn, I learned this the hard way.) It won't matter if you're making a project that only uses one skein.  But if you are using more skeins, dye lots will be very important to you.

How different are the colors of the skeins I'm using for this project? Have a little peek the picture below, the little fellow on the left is the odd ball dye lot.  That's a huge difference in color from the one on the right.

So what do you do when you have different dye lots?

1. You could try to find additional skeins/balls in the same dye lot.  In my case this would not be worth it. I purchased these over a year ago and the store no longer carries this yarn.  I could start a search on-line.  Ravelry would be a good source. If you are going to find it, the ISO and Destash group would be the best bet.  But this project is just not that serious.

2. You could frog the project.  If I were to consider frogging, I'd rip it out but start over and cast on with fewer stitches, to make the scarf longer. Not in a ripping mode right now.

3. Throw it in that UFO (unfinished object) corner we all tend to have and dread. The corner is not as crowded as it was last year, so I'm not trying to add to it.

4.  Keep going as is and make it work with what you have.

I'm going with #4. I really like this scarf, but not enough to rip it out and start over.  I think the two balls will be enough for a short scarf that wraps nicely around the neck.  Once finished, I'll figure out how to wear it to make it look it's best, despite the fact that it is shorter than originally planned.

Oh well, things happen, life goes on and so do my knitting needles.

Toodles!

Project 1 of 13(actually 39) in 2013

And we're off!

My first project of 2013 is The Erika Scarf  from Sock Yarn On-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant. This is a fast knit and I LOVE the stitch pattern.  It is one of those projects that you can carry around easily. The stitch pattern is easy to remember.  If you are a social knitter, this one will work while you sit and chat with your knitting and crochet buddies.  At this rate, I'll be done in a couple of days.  I'm not sure if I'll block this or not. I guess I'll wait until I'm finished to decide.

I choose Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi in Tapestry Rainbow for this project. I love the  long striping  of this yarn.

Kraphti's Ericka Scarf

Toodles!

LYS....can be a dirty word

When I first started knitting, I purchased my yarn at chain stores like Michaels, Joanns, WalMart...etc.  Now there is nothing wrong with the yarn purchased in these stores.  And I was content to stock my stash from the lovelies found on their shelf.

But hanging out with a bunch of enabling yarn lovers (yes my lovely ladies of the Wednesday night knitting and crochet group, I am referring to you), I soon learned a new dangerous term....LYS, short for Local Yarn Store.  Yup as whole store for yarn.  Well most have other fiber related goodies, but yarn is the star of the show. And the yarn, well you don't get these goods at the big box chain stores.

Now I'm not a yarn snob, and the yarn in the chain stores has a happy home in my hoard stash cabinet.  But the first time I visited a Local Yarn Store, I lost my ever-loving mind.   My oh my....who knew such lushness  could be found stocked is these small retail locations.  I'd done some web surfing and even jumped out on a limb and made a couple of on-line purchases.  But there is nothing like stepping into a brick and mortar  yarn shop.  The colors and textures sweep you and your wallet up into a euphoric frenzy...in a good way...I think.

The good....hands on interaction with lots of fiber goodies.  I mean really, there may be something very wrong with fiber lovers, the way we moan and sigh as we touch and pet a skein of yarn.  In a yarn store, such behavior is overlooked. If we did this on the street, people would likely give us a wide berth.

The bad...at least for me...there is no calculator automatically keeping a running total of purchases.  Talking about sticker shock when my total gets rung up.

So how does one go about finding and LYSs in the area:

1.  Enablers....join a knitting or crochet group and I guarantee, they'll help you out there (see paragraph 2 for an example)
2.  The Internet...do a search of "local yarn store".  You can limit the search to your area or do a city, state, country or global search.  Google, yahoo, yelp and other such sites are great ways to locate LYSs
3. Ravelry.....the mecca of yarn related arts.  Yup you'll find out about yarn shops there...but be warned, once you get into Ravelry, you can't get out :)
4. Smart phone apps....um-hmm.  There are a number of LYS related apps for both Android and iphone. I am not sure about Windows phones, since it's been eons since I've played around with one of these.
5. Old fashioned yellow pages...I guess you could use this.  But since it's been eons since I've used them, I'd probably have to use the internet to look up tips on how to use the yellow pages.  Sad, I know.

In some upcoming posts, I'll talk about some of the LYSs that I've had the pleasure of visiting. I'll also talk about LYS crawls.  OMG....what's more fun than visiting yarn stores...taking a friend or friends and hopping to several in a day!

Yarn dropping at my door

I'm sitting on the couch minding my own business, when I hear a knock at the door. Hmmm....I'm not expecting company.  It turns out that it's the UPS guy, well one of the guys (not that I know a lot of them because I have stuff delivered on a regular basis...well...er...um {whistles and moves along}.

Mr. UPS guy has a package for me....really it was for little old me.  How nice of him, to bring my new yarn...wait I don't know that it's yarn since according to the beginning of the post, I was sitting there minding my own business...well...er...um {whistles and moves along}.

I open the package and what a surprise....it's yarn, my newest crafting supply obsession.  It's a lovely Cotton/micro acrylic blend from an Italian yarn maker named Berlini named Peppi . I ordred from Numei  Now being new to the yarn game, I did some online research before ordering.   I didn't see very many reviews, but none of them were bad, so I figured why not.  

{shhhhh}Come closer...just a secret between you and me.  I may be new to the yarn game, but I know a bargain when I see it.   The yarn comes in 191 yard balls and individually run $5.99...but for they also have them a bag of 10 for $14.90.  In the words of Sheldon....."BAZINGA!"  Now that's a deal. And they quite a few yarns at closeout prices.  Even better, it looks like you can get most of their yarns as a bag of 10 for at least 50% of the regular price. Plus the shipping was super fast. It's a winner for me...but {shhhhh} don't go running off and telling everybody.

I need to interject, I really had no idea what the yarn would look like, I was basically trying to find a lightweight yarn to begin practice on some advanced crochet projects I want to do.  Yeah, I know...beginner crocheter/knitter and all...but remember I like doing things the hard way. But don't worry, you'll be hearing more on  those projects later.



Peppi in Island Blue and Firecracker

Stashing...hording....nope I still like stashing better.  My growing pile of yarn needs somewhere to grow....um I mean go.  (Please excuse my craft supply hording tendencies for showing themselves.)  Really, I have no idea where I am going to keep this growing pile of yarn.  Oh well I'll ponder that later. Right now I'm off to play with my new yarn.

I knitted...and no one got hurt

I always pictured me and knitting needles as an accident waiting to happen.  Plus no matter how many books, articles or videos I viewed, it seemed so complicated.

The crochet group I  recently joined, frequently meets with a knitting group. This combo makes perfect sense to me. I don't understand that beef between the two fiber groups. Are they like gangs or something. Do they come across each other and ask "What set you claiming...needles or hooks?"

Anyway the week before, Deb was assisting some new knitters and i asked if she would be willing to teach me. I gave her warning...I knew nothing of knitting, didn't know a knit from a purl and what the heck did "cast on" mean.  She said no problem. And she was right....no problem.

In less than an hour, she'd taught me to cast on (I'm not sure what the on needle cast on method is called) and the knit stitch.

Whoopee! I've got the hang of it...and I managed to keep the needles in hand, no injuries to anyone.

I will become a fiber artist yet.

Bagging it

I keep getting told that as a new crocheter I should be making pot holders.  Huh? Er ok. But anybody that knows me, knows I like  the challenge of learning a new craft in the most difficult way I can.   So after  I had a few stitches under my belt, I made a couple of scarves and moved on to hats.

Then lo and behold, I found Ralvery. Ravely really should have come with flashing lights and sirens screeching "Danger Will Robinson.  Danger Will Robinson!"  I do believe I suffered from fiber overload on that first day searching around the site.  (BTW...you need an account to view the contents of the site. It's free and well worth it...but be warned...you can easily become addicted.)

After searching through 50 billion projects and adding about 25 billion to my favorites, I decided to do a Market Bag from Lion Brand Yarn.   I've got 20 balls of Sugar 'n Cream Yarn, so it was perfect for this project.   

Lion Brand's patterns are relatively easy to read.  (Whooo..that's another aspect of this thing.  Reading and interpreting patterns. And following them....let's not forget that.)  I did make some mistakes along the way with the Market Bag, but was able to adjust without having to pull all the stitches out. The handles gave me some problems. But I figured out what I was doing wrong.  So the next one will be easier. 

I'm proud of my bag. It's already busy holding part of my quickly growing yarn stash.

The thick and chunky cowl

I completed my first....no second  project (forgot about the 1st scarf...will blog about that later.).....YEA!  I was impressed with myself, it only took about 2 hours for me to complete this.

Lion Brand Cowl

I love Lion Brand's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn. It's all thick and warm and cuddly.

(side note:  I still love my Steelers.  We'll get #7 next year!)

For the love of Yarn

Oh dear...I  made the mistake of walking down the yarn isle in the craft stores.  I've always wanted to learn to knit and crochet but put it on the back burner.  Wait, eons ago I did learn to crochet in the Girl Scouts...I think...must do something about those memory lapses.  Anyway, any stitches I'd learn have been lost in the recesses of my mind amongst the other 50 kabillion crafts I dabble in.  No wait...that was macramé that I learned. Really must do something about the lapses. :)

Well, back to the craft store. I really was only looking for a large yarn needle to repair a bag I've had for some years.  I looked around and saw all these beautiful yarns and the seed was planted in the back of my mind.  Fast forward a few months and I was on etsy and saw a seller making customer crocheted sweaters. But when I saw the $300 price tag...my muse said uh-uh...you can learn to do that yourself.

(I must interject, being a crafter I never gripe about what others charge for their crafts. I understand and appreciate the time and effort it takes to create. That said, I need to give this a go myself before considering paying that kind of money for a sweater....no matter how beautiful it was.)

So of course this lead me to be on-line looking up tutorials, watching youtube videos and digging through craft supplies, because I was sure I had some crochet hooks somewhere. Ah-ha...I had a full set.  Now armed with coupons, tutorials, new books (sigh...I know I already own a small craft library...but I just LOOOOVE books) I headed to the craft stores.

You know how you should not go to the grocery store hungry or without a list...the same applies to a craft store.  I don't even wanna get into that one...moving on with all my newly acquired yarn.

So sitting down, I grabbed my hooks, yarn, books and parked in front of the computer screen and proceeded  to learn the basic stitches.  So far so good.  I've got to work on tension, but I'm told that will come in time.

Right now, I'm only working on Crochet....I'm not sure I should have a deadly pair of knitting needles in my hands.  Maybe in a few months, I'll start looking at the basics on knitting.

But in the meantime I'm happily hooking away!