Visit to an Alpaca Farm

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We have an alpaca farm nearby and they were holding an open house this past weekend.  I've been wanting to visit for a long time and guess that was the incentive that I needed.  What a fun couple of hours.  And the DH was even glad he went with me. 

There were a couple temporary pens set up in front of their shop with a few alpacas that we could admire.  The owner greeted us and explained a few things about alpacas to us.  She and her husband have been in the alpaca business for about 15 years, breeding, selling, shearing, knitting, the whole gamut.  They don't do their own spinning but send it off to local fiber mills to do the processing.  It was hard to tear myself away from the animals, so beautiful and with faces to fall in love with.  She said that as cute as they look, alpacas aren't cuddlers.  They have personalities much like a cat, enjoy their antics and wait for them to come around for attention.

They had several babies this spring altho they looked almost full sized to me.  It was very windy when we visited and the young ones were kind of skiddish about the unfamiliar sounds and people like us roaming around.







This big boy is one of their award winning herd sires.  He was one that enjoyed being touched and petted.











Here is one of their breeding females and she kept an eagle eye on us the whole time we were there.  Isn't she a sweetie?











These are a pair of youngsters.  The one on the right was born with a recessive gene that gave him blue eyes and left him deaf.  He will never be able to be a breeding sire but is very tame and would make a nice companion to a herd.  The owner said that alpacas aren't loners as they get lonely just like we do, so they try to sell in pairs or to already established herds.






OK, enough of the animals.  So we go inside to the shop and find lots of tempting goodies.  Just look at the socks!  Who can resist a pair of socks?  They are so soft and comfy.  Note the ribbons and awards under their counter.









Look at the gorgeous alpaca items, yarns and roving.  It was a joy doing the touchy feely thing.

Gradient Dip Dyeing a Sock Blank

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I just love gradient sock yarns but there aren’t too many retail gradient yarns available.  And besides, dyeing is fun!  So…here’s my first attempt at dip dyeing a gradient sock blank.  And I’m quite pleased with the results, although I miscalculated my color placement a bit.  But as I knit the sock, I pulled out stretches of yarn in appropriate places to arrive at my destination.  The skein of yarn I started with was 4 oz instead of 3.5 oz of most sock yarns.  So here's what I did.

I first started by knitting my yarn into a double stranded blank, with a few rows of waste yarn at both ends.  The waste yarn will make it easier to unravel later and I didn’t want a permanent cast on or bind off edge to prevent the dye from saturating all the stitches.  I used my postal scale as I wound the cakes to get 2 cakes of equal weight.  I knit my blank by casting on 30 stitches and knit 260 rows at T9 on my KX-350 midgauge knitting machine.  I purposely knit my blank narrower than the normal sock blanks so my colors would transition better without creating definitive lines when I knit the sock.

I prepared my blank by soaking in room temperature water with a couple squirts of hand dishwashing soap.  I laid the blank on top of the water and let it ‘sink’ on its own so air bubbles wouldn’t be trapped in the yarn and cause a resistance which would prevent the dye from saturating.  I let it soak for about 30 minutes, then sozzled it around to ‘wash’ the yarn.  Then I rinsed it and soaked again for atleast another 30 minutes while I was preparing the dye mix and work space.

The rest of the steps are pretty much trial and error but worked just fine with a bit of refinement needed for the next batch.

The acid dye that I used calls for 2 tsp per 4 oz of yarn but as I worked, I could see that this was way too much dye.  Doing this again, I would start with about half the amount of recommended dye, thinking that I can always add more dye mix if needed.  

I devised my own DIY rack and frame with a couple pieces of Styrofoam insulation left over from one of our construction projects and used long metal knitting needles to make an adjustable rack.  I placed the yarn blank over the knitting needles and into the dye pot to determine placement of the top needle.  I wanted a couple of inches of the blank to be submerged into the dye pot.  So I poked the first knitting needle thru both pieces of Styrofoam to hold the blank where I wanted to start.  Then I spaced another knitting needle about an inch lower than the first, placed another needle an inch lower, etc until the last needle was resting on top of the dye pot.

I turned my hot plate on to medium high and let the water warm up.  I then added about 2” of warm water to the pot and added the prepared dye mix along with 2T of white vinegar (or citric acid).  Use caution on adding the vinegar at the beginning of the process because some dyes will break color if the acid is added too early.   I wanted my gradient to move from dark at the cuff, toe and heel with lighter portions in between.  Leave it to me, huh?  So I folded the blank in about half, which would be the heel area and hung it on the top knitting needle with both ends and the middle heel area about 2” into the dye bath.

Let that set for about 5 min, give or take, then I pulled out the top knitting needle so the whole blank would drop another inch into the dye bath.  From here, the trial and error really begins.  I placed a plastic dish in front of my dye pot so I could lift the whole rack and Styrofoam frame to see how things were going on the blank and to add water.  After this, I lifted the rack and yarn out of the pot and added a couple inches of water each time I pulled out a knitting needle to lower the blank into the pot another inch.  I let each section sit for about 5 minutes, checked it for desired color before I lowered it again.   Be sure to stir the dye mix each time water is added and before repositioning the blank again.  

When done, the dye mix was a couple of inches from the top of the pot when I pulled out the last needle and let the last portion drop into the dye mix.   I didn’t leave the last portion in the dye mix very long because I wanted it just tinted a bit.  Use your judgment on when to lower the blank or to add water as it will depend on how much saturation you want and how you want your gradient to look.  I used way too much dye this time around so I found it necessary to remove some of the dye mix with a quart jar and discard it and just added more water until I got the nice shaded gradient effect I wanted.

Because the water temperature never got hot enough for 30 minutes to set the dye, I lifted the rack and blank from the dye pot when I was satisfied with the results and squeezed out as much water as I could.  Then I wrapped the blank in plastic wrap and steamed it for 30 minutes after the water came up to boiling.  Cool, rinse, wash with Synthrapol or hand dish soap and rinse til clear.  Voila!  I now have a nice gradient sock blank.

This method of dip dyeing will not result in a solid color because the yarn isn’t in the dye bath long enough to saturate through all the nooks and crannies of the yarn stitches but is lovely none the less.  I would suggest painting instead of dipping if you want more solid colors.

Tie Dyed T-shirts

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Guess I missed out on the tie dye craze a few decades ago, so our granddaughters roped me in now.   When one of the girls suggested we have a girls’ bonding day to tie dye, I had no idea how to tie dye, what dyes to use or the array of design possibilities.  So being the type of person I am, I started researching tie dyeing so I would be prepared and not feel like a total dummy.  And there’s no better place to start than YouTube.  After watching several videos, I soon learned the basics, tying techniques for the different designs and also that there’s no wrong way to tie dye.  The possibilities are endless.

So off I go to buy shirts and dyes.  Walmart, the only department store in our town is where I found tie dye kits by Tulip.  The kits are prepackaged with dyes and bottles to mix with water, rubber bands, gloves and instructions.  Tulip dyes are advertised as being organic, so I would assume safer for people and safer for the environment.  What more could I ask for?  I also purchased the shirts at Walmart.  The dyes in the kits are fiber reactive so 100% cotton fabric is recommended.  Any fiber reactive dyes can be used, just be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for their use.

Our first tie dye day arrived a couple weeks ago and we just had a blast. Earlier in the morning, I prewashed the shirts to rid them of the sizing in the fabric and applied the dyes while they were still damp.  I laid a plastic painter’s drop cloth over my counter for us to work on, laid our shirts on a couple of paper towels and we began our designs.  They all turned out really great. 

One thing I noticed is that most of the videos I watched and the instructions that came with the dye kits fail to emphasize that the shirts need to be turned over to apply color to the back side also.  One of the girls used different colors on the backside than on the front and came up with a gorgeous spiral shirt.

Fabric dyed with fiber reactive dyes need to set at room temperature to set the colors properly so the hardest part was waiting til the next day to see the results of our creations.  The Tulip instructions say to let set for 6-8 hours before rinsing but recommend up to 24 hours for more vibrant colors.  The rinsing and washing was pretty exciting.  However, after the excess dye is washed out, the colors aren’t near as vibrant as they are when wet.  I must stress to rinse in a sink until the water runs pretty much clear, do NOT wash in the washer until most of the excess dye has been previously rinsed out.  There is a lot of excess dye that doesn't get absorbed into the fabric and if washed before rinsing, a lot of the excess dye will be surging around in the washing machine, to get absorbed in places you don't want it to be.

We had so much fun and wanted more shirts so we planned another tie dye day when all three girls could get together.  On Sat, the 4 of us dyed 3 more shirts each.  Had another fun day, but not without incident….a bottle of dye got knocked off and onto the floor.  But it wiped up with wet paper towels without staining and all was well.  After our dyeing, there were a couple dribbles on the countertop but they cleaned right up by rubbing them with a wet paper towel and a shake of baking soda as a cleanser.  I don’t know how the dye would clean up after it dried but the dye on my fingers has already washed/worn off.  So all is well on that front too.

Enjoy the pictures.


This configuration makes the bulls eye pattern.  Decide where you want the bulls eye located, pinch both layers of fabric and grab it with your fingers.  Hold it up in the air and straighten the fabric as best as you can, section it off and wrap with rubber bands.  Add dye to each section.  On the thicker sections, make sure you saturate the fabric, squirting more dye into the folds, turn over and repeat the colors on the other side.









This method makes a spiral design.  Again decide where you want the spiral located on your shirt, grab both layers of fabric and tightly twist it around, making a circle.  Place rubber bands around the shirt as shown and apply dyes to each 'pie' shape.  Again squirt dye into the folds.   Turn over and repeat the colors on the back side.  Use a clean paper towel to prevent unwanted drips applying themselves to the wrong spots.

These are the dyeing results of the girls' shirts on our 2nd get together.  Look interesting, don't they?







These are the shirts from the group on the right hand side.  I think they're all great!
The kitty thinks so too.

These 3 came from the middle group in the picture above.  Pretty awesome.

These are the shirts we did on our 2nd day.  The double spirals are done by folding a bottom corner of the shirt up to the opposite shoulder seam, then twisting the same as for the single spiral.   The top 3 shirts are results of the first group in the photo above.  And the 2 on the right hand side are double spirals.  The one in the middle was dyed with different colors on the back side. 

These are the shirts from our first dyeing day.....just enough to make us want to do more.














P.S.  Here are a couple links from YouTube to help get you started.

Single spiral:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbjWkiQ5DtI&list=TLkqsBo7zhfZo

Double spiral:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZGwVMs5lBg

Bullseye:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nm0q5654AE

Fairisle Checkerboard Slippers

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Have you ever knit something that soon became one of your favorite ‘go-to’ patterns?  This slipper is one of those.   I don’t even remember where I got the original pattern from but it’s been around for a long, long time.  The original didn’t have a cuff but everyone likes the cuff so well that it’s all I knit anymore.  The fairisle floats make a nice double layered fabric for warmth and a longer wearing sole.  

They can be made on any machine and with any yarn but easiest knit with a punch card or electronic machine.  However they can be made on a manual machine by pulling needles.  Refer to your machine user's manual for instructions.

My pattern is designed for a woman’s size 8 or thereabouts, and knit on a bulky machine with worsted weight acrylic yarns.  I’ve made many pair for the grandkiddies on my midgauge machine with a lighter weight worsted, such as Caron Simply Soft.  Imagine how nice they’d be made with a superwash wool or wool blend.  If you know the approximate foot length, you can make a pair of these slippers to fit any foot.  They don’t need the precise fit that socks require so they’re somewhat size forgiving.

Use your imagination and combine some crazy yarns for a colorful slipper.  Or use colors of your favorite sports team.  (Note the pair with the Green Bay Packers green and gold.)

FAIRISLE SLIPPERS

Fits size 8 Woman’s  (for approximately a 10” long foot)

Machine:  Bulky with ribber

Yarn:  Any worsted (4 oz main color, 2 oz contrasting color)

Gauge:  Unimportant

1.   T4, with WY and ravel cord, CO 44 sts (multiples of 6 + 2 to keep in checkerboard pattern)

2.   e-wrap (with 1 yarn). 

3.   K1R across. 

4.   RC 000, set fairisle card for patterning.

Note:  Pull out end needle on carriage side each row to catch the floats.

5.   K48R.

6.   Take machine off Fairisle and return to Stockinette.

7.   Cut CC yarn and K1R.

8.   Transfer EOS to its neighbor and move stitches together.

9.   K2R.

10. Gather up toe and secure, mattress stitch front seam.  Leave 4” opening (5 blocks of color).

11. If not adding ribbed cuff, sew back and heel together.  If adding ribbed cuff, do not sew up back and heel until after the cuff is knit.

TO ADD RIBBED CUFF:

1.   Hang top edge of slipper, with wrong side facing.  Pick up both loops of 46 stitches.

2.   K1R from L to R. (T4 on SK860).

3.   Transfer EOS to main ribber bed.   

4.   T0, Work 1x1 rib for 29 rows.  (35R at T5 on SK860)

5.   Transfer ribber stitches to main bed.  Back stitch bind off.

6.   Seam ribbing with a Bickford st from the wrong side.  From the inside, blanket st thru both loops of both layers on the back and heel by forming a ‘T’ shape for heel.

There is a very good foot size chart at http://www.junebugsplace.com/socksizes.htm  to give you a starting point for sizes other than my pattern.  

Kids’ feet are as unique and as varied as adult’s.  Some are narrow, some are chubby so it’s quite hard to declare a standard size.  But below is what I knit for some of our grandkids a few years ago, all with different configuration of feet.  These were knit with one strand of worsted weight yarn and one strand of Caron Simply Soft (a lighter worsted).  The ribbing was knit at T4 with Caron Simply Soft on my midgauge SK860 machine and ribber.

Sz           CO          # of Rows            Sts to P/U            # of Rows

                                                          For Ribbing              

9”           42           43                          45                          35

8”           37           40                          39                          31

7”           32           32                          35                          27

5”           29           26                          29                          23

 

NOTE:  To seam the back into a ‘T’ shape, I start from the top of the back and with a blanket stitch, seam the back edges together to within about 2/3 of the way toward the heel.  You can adjust the height of the back heel by leaving a bigger or smaller open area here.  Then I ‘flatten’ the remaining fabric from the middle of the fold, pushing it toward the seam to make a ‘T’.  Then I catch the middle stitch at the fold line and secure it to the already sewn seam with a blanket stitch just for a bit of added stability.  Then blanket stitch toward one end of the heel and fasten off.  Don’t cut the yarn but invisibly run it thru the seam already done toward the other heel end.  When you get to the middle blanket stitch, again close the other end of the heel with a blanket stitch.  Fasten off and hide yarn tail.  This picture shows the seam, in a different pair of slippers, but it'll give you a good idea how the 'T' is formed.

 

Beading on the Machine

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I’ve never done beadwork on the machine, so thought I’d give it a try.  I just finished a few pair of watermelon socks and spent a lot of time duplicate stitching the ‘seeds’.  I found that using beads for the ‘seeds’ did go some faster but it took me a few beads to get over the clumsiness and get comfortable with it.  But after a few, it went pretty well.  But I found that I had to watch each bead as I knit over it to make sure that it knit properly.  I had a couple dropped beads but was probably my own fault for getting too comfortable and not watching closely enough. 

I used size 6/0 glass beads and was warned not to use plastic beads as they may crack or break during laundry.   And I used about a 15” length of Berkley FireLine fishing line to string the beads on.  You don’t need to use this fishing line but I like it because it has a wire core which holds its shape and is easy to manipulate.

I’m not a professional beader by any stretch of the imagination but my method worked for me.   I used the garter carriage for patterning on this project but the method is the same while using the plain knitter.  

Beading has many applications and I'd say fun to do so I hope you give it a try also.

Here’s how I did it:

1)   First, tie several knots at the end of the fishing line, enough knots so the beads won’t slide off the end.  Then string several beads onto the fishing line.   Thread the other end through a blunt nosed tapestry needle.

2)   Determine which stitch the bead is to be placed on and run the threaded tapestry needle thru the loop of the stitch on the needlebed. 

3)   Pull the fishing line through the stitch, remove the stitch from the machine needle and then remove the tapestry needle.

4)   Then move the first bead up near the stitch.

5)   Thread the end of the fishing line through the bead.  You will have 2 strands of fishing line running through the bead and a loop through the stitch on the machine.

6)   Then hold both strands of fishing line up and move the bead down toward the machine and pull the stitch through the bead.

7)   Using a one prong transfer tool, place the stitch back on the empty needle and pull the end of the fishing line out.

8)  The bead and stitch are now placed on the needle and you’re ready to knit.  Be sure to check the beads after knitting the row to make sure they are all securely attached.









Here's the finished sock with beads used for the 'seeds'.  I'm happy.  The beads are hardly noticeable on my feet and they look more professional.  ♥

Disclaimer:  I just finished a pair of beaded socks for myself and must admit that I really don't like how the beads feel on my feet.  I wear Crocs or felted clogs most of the time and even as loosely as they fit, the top of my foot is irritated by the pressure on the beads.  So....I guess that beads might not be a good choice for socks in the foot area.  I would limit the beads to the ankle part only.

Door County, WI

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 Last week, we took a couple days off and drove to the other side of our beautiful state of Wisconsin to visit Door County.  For those of you not familiar with Wisconsin, Door County is located on the eastern side of the state on a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan on its north and east side and is bordered by a huge bay on its west side.   We were hoping to see the cherry orchards in full bloom but were a few days late for the full bloom but several of the orchards still had some beautiful trees.  Door County is home to over 2,000 acres of cherry orchards and draws over 2 million tourists from all over the US.   Door County hosts a cherry festival in July when the cherries are about to be harvested.   Door County also has wineries, apple orchards, beautiful gardens and famous fishing so there's no lack of reasons to host festivals all summer long.

We drove up to the northernmost tip of the peninsula only to have heavy fog set in so our view of the lake was pretty much nonexistent.  We were hoping to see some of the lighthouses but the fog obscured their view too.  But we did see the ferry leaving for Washington Island, which lies north of the peninsula in Lake Michigan.  It just drove off into the fog....not my idea of a relaxing trip. 

The area off the peninsula tip is especially dangerous because of the many islands and the turbulent currents created by the waters in Lake Michigan meeting the waters in Green Bay.  There are several submerged shipwrecks in the area from the early days of the French explorers....I'm still thinking of that ferry that took off into the fog!


This is a picture of Green Bay from its western banks.  The next day was sunny and beautiful.










Egg Harbor is the largest city on the peninsula north of Sturgeon Bay and this beautiful church along the highway caught our eyes.  Its stone and brick architecture is quite unique.

I hope you all get a chance to visit Door County, WI.  It's a beautiful piece of our country.

Mock Ribbed Socks

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I need a couple more pairs of lighter weight socks for summertime wear and I had some nice CoBaSi cotton yarn in my stash.  I really like this yarn.  It’s 55% cotton, 16% bamboo, 8% silk and 31% elastic nylon.  Most of the other cottons I’ve tried are about as heavy or heavier than most of my wool socks so they really aren’t much of a benefit in warmer weather.
  
The label on CoBaSi recommends 6.5 to 8 sts per inch, but I knit the ribbing in T5 and the body at T6 on my standard gauge machine, which gave me a gauge of 9 sts and 12 rows per inch.  I don’t like sloppy socks and these seem to hold their shape well and stay on my feet at this gauge.

I wanted something a bit different than the plain ol’ socks that I normally knit but I really don’t have much patience for hand manipulated lace so this is what I decided on.  After I knit the ribbed cuffs, I converted to circular knitting, then transferred every 6^th stitch to out of work position and knit as I would any other circular sock.  After I worked the shortrowed heel, I continued with the foot in circular but didn’t work the out of work needles on the sole. 

My foot is 10.5” long and 8.5” around; here’s my ‘recipe’:
1.  CO 64 sts, 1x1 ribbing for 56 rows at T5.
2.  For a seam up the back, transfer all stitches to the ribber bed.
3.  Transfer ¼ of the stitches on each side to the main bed to work in circular.
4.  Evenly transfer every 6^th stitch to its neighbor and put the empty needles out of work.
5.  T6, K110 rows circular in ankle.
6.  Work shortrowed heel down to 10 sts.
7.  Keeping the out of work needle pattern on the ribber bed (instep), K124 rows circular for foot.
8.  Work shortrowed toe the same as for the heel.
9.  Scrap off, sew seam up the back of ribbing, graft the toe seam.

Note that I usually run a strand of Woolly Nylon in the heels and toes of my socks.  If I don’t use Woolly Nylon, I lower my tension dial by one full number.

Watermelon Socks, knit flat

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30 Nov 2016

Well, blogger is at it again.  I've been trying to reply to a nice comment left for this pattern and it won't let me post, so I'm answering the comment from 'Unknown' from earlier this afternoon and hope it helps the rest of you too.

 

The comment was:

I know this is a old post but how many sts did you increase to for the ankle? you start with 66 and it looks like you increase by about 10 (5 each side) but can't be sure.
And my reply is:

Thanks for your comments and bringing to my attention that my schematics might have thrown you (and others) off.  I don't increase any sts for the ankle.  In the case of 66 sts CO, the total number of sts remain at 66, the same throughout.  My schematics appeared that there was an increase so I 'fixed the schematics' diagrams and replaced them to what the actual knitting should look like.  Sorry if I caused some confusion but it should be clearer now.  Again thanks for looking at my blog and bringing this to my attention.

 

 This is what happens when 2 teenage granddaughters put their heads together and sweet talk their grandmother into making them a pair of socks that they just ‘have to have’.  They, of course, knew they’d win.  ☺

It was a fun project but they didn’t happen overnight.  I couldn’t find sock yarn in colors that I needed so that meant dyeing yarn, which also meant ordering dyes and a cone of sock yarn.  Then I had to wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I could be outside to do the dyeing.  So during the wait for things to come together, I planned my attack and decided on a g-carriage pattern and designed it in DAK.  Then I needed to come up with correct sizing.  The new cone of yarn I got was heavier than the last one I got from the same company and it didn’t gauge out the same.  So I spent a few days working up the pattern and frogging a couple socks until I came up with what I thought would fit one of the girls.  I basted it together and had one of them try it on and, voila, it fit.  So I am a happy camper.

I started with the cuff ribbing, then worked the ankle with the g-carriage.  I wanted the ankle seam to run up the back so I scrapped off ¼ of the stitches on each side of ‘0’ and continued with the garter pattern on the center half of the stitches to the toe.  Then because I wanted the facing garter pattern to be on the public side, I turned my work with a garter bar and I proceeded to shortrow the toe, knit the sole and worked the shortrowed heel in stockinette stitch.  To be able to graft the heel seam and have the pattern continue, I turned the fabric and then scrapped off, to be grafted later.

I randomly worked the ‘seeds’ with duplicate stitch with a strand of black 4 ply yarn split into 2 strands.  I had thought about using glass beads for the seeds but both girls thought they'd prefer the comfort of duplicate stitch.  I seamed each side of the foot, the back of the ankle and lastly grafted across the heel.  I tried a couple different methods of SAYG on the foot sides but they looked too conspicuous for my liking so I opted to use a Bickford seam on the public side after they came off the machine.  Much better.  On one edge of the fabric, I came up thru a loop and down the next knot, then moved over to the other edge and did the same thing…came up thru a loop and down the next knot.   On the back ankle seam, I used the same method but worked from the wrong side of the fabric. 

I soon learned that adding the duplicate stitching for the ‘seeds’ was much easier if done before the sock was seamed up.  I worked the 'seed's vertically so they wouldn't get stretched too much horizontally while wearing.  I seamed one side of the foot, did the duplicate stitches, then finished the seaming. 

What a fun pair of socks!  But there is a lot of hand work after they come off the machine.  I have one more pair to make for the other gal and I'll post pictures when they're done....stay tuned.  I've included my schematic pattern for the first pair I made that might help you get going if you want to make a pair.  This is for a size 8 narrow foot, 9.5" long.

I've also included my DAK 'melon' pattern but you may use any g-carriage design you like.

P.S.  I should add that I use Pro Chemical Pro One Shot dyes.