Bruno Yarn

The Bruno yarn is done. I plied it on Sunday evening and blocked it. It was dry enough to twist up into a nice skein by lunch time. So here's a little portrait!
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Project Specs:
Fibre Source: Bruno (a friend's Newfie Dog)

Wheel: Ashford Traditional

Fibre Prep: Hand carded rolags

Singles: spun woolen

Yarn: 3 ply bulky, navajo plied, 72grams, 96 yards

Date Started: April 16, 2009
Date Finished: April 20, 2009

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"Say hello to Bruno!"

A friend of mine has a huge Newfie dog named Bruno. He's such a sweetie - and a real gentle giant. She's been wanting to learn to spin so she could make yarn from his brushings, but has found so little time. She did give me a big Ziploc full of fur though!

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"Hi Bruno!"

This has already been washed and dried and probably about 1/4 of it has already been spun.

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I was very concerned about it felting when I washed it, but knew I needed to since the doggy smell (although not that strong) was still too much for me, so I wrapped it loosely in muslin fabric before washing it in the kitchen sink. I ran cool to lukewarm water in the sink and used a bit of Palmolive Cucumber Melon scent. Once the since was full, I gently set my muslin parcel in the water and submerged it. I let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes, and gently lifted it out. I repeated that 3 times, using fresh water and soap each time. Then I used the same process to rinse, (just left out the soap) until the water didn’t seem soapy any more. I let the “parcel” drain for about 30 minutes in the sink and then wrapped it in a towel and pressed more water out. I let the fur dry over night.

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I've been handcarding one rolag at a time and then spinning it up. This is the first time using the handcards that the woman threw in with the deal when I bought my used Ashford Traditional last summer. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, although what I'm doing still doesn't quite look like the video on Joy of Handspinning that I'm learning off of.

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And here's some of the singles on my wheel. I'm thinking of doing a 3 ply and am spinning my singles so that I'll end up with a worsted weight.

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This is a tiny 2 ply sample skein that I spun up before I washed the fur. Very soft and fluffy! I heart Bruno-yarn.

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Parade of Socks (all the socks I've ever knit)

I do not have time to knit. I am too busy with the Figure Skating year end Ice Show: making costumes, helping with props, getting ready for the big night! Friday is the dress rehearsal with two shows this weekend. The other moms and I were talking last night at the arena that this is both the best and worst week of the season. It is going to be a great show!

And next week I go into high gear on another fun project: Academic Olympiad at the kids school. It will be fun family evening geared to "competing" in various academic events, with a Wii and Big Brain Academy as the door prize. Much work to be done yet, but I think two weeks should be enough. We're planning for May 11th.

But... I do have some sock to post about. Socks that have kept my feet warm all winter and will soon be going into hibernating with the winter clothes.

From the top:

• Socks of my own design with KnitPicks Essential in Burgundy - a bit too tight. They only get worn when they're the last ones in the drawer. Maybe I should frog them and use the yarn for something I'll love?
• Plain socks with afterthought heels both colors Patons Kroy "Norfolk Blue" and an evergreen/navy/light blue ragg that I've lost the ball band from. I loved the ragg yarn and wanted to use as much of it as I could. I split the ball in two, joined the happy yarn once I'd knit a navy toe and knit round and round and round and round until I ran out of yarn. Then I added a navy cuff and a navy afterthough heel (although it was really a planned thing) and repeated the process once more for a pair of socks I love.
• Mini cabled ribbed socks in a pattern of my own devising knit in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Bosco "3524". I love these socks so much. They fit perfect. I love the yarn too. It's the same yarn I designed Opie with.
• Plain toe up socks with a square heel from Wisdom Yarn's Marathon Socks - Los Angeles Color #241. Used Judy's Magic Cast-on - such a handy technique! Love these socks so much, they need to be darned on the balls of the foot. (Before I do that I need to wash the leftover yarn from making them since it's crusty from when the dog found the ball and played with it). They fit perfectly. Love the yarn too - nice and soft and squishy.
• Plain cuff down, flap heel socks with Sunshine Yarns "Cherry Blossom" colorway from a couple of years ago. Probably the softest socks in my collection. Beth's Kitty is using this yarn to knit socks for herself too.
• Spring Forward socks in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Marmi "7002". Great socks. Warm and comfy. The pattern was easy to remember and fun to knit.

This is all the handknit socks in my sock drawer right now. This doesn't include any that have sadly been darned so many times they had to be let go. Nor does it include the socks M has worn out, grown out of or are in his drawer (we're the only two here who like the handknit woolies on our toesies). Nor does it include the socks that I made for my sister's family of 5 a few years ago for Christmas. Or the 3 pairs for Mom and Dad. Mom has a pair of Hedera's in KnitPicks Essential "denim", a pair of Hibiscus for Hope in Patons Kroy "Muslin" and a pair of broken rib socks in Patons Kroy "Coal" that Dad let her have because he found them a bit too scratchy. (Note to self: make his next pair in KnitPicks Gloss)

My very first pair of socks were toe up Pine Tree socks in Patons Kroy "Flax". I had such fun learning to knit socks and loved that pair of socks until the ball of the foot was darned to death. I did frog the instep and cuff and still have the yarn left to make something else. I couldn't part with it.

See? I do knit socks!

He thinks he's being really sneaky

This Maddox is for M for Easter. Maddox firmly believes that he can fool us with this disguise and score some Easter Chocolate for himself.

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Project Specs:

Pattern: Maddox the Mischevious Monster by Rebecca Danger

Pattern Source: Ravelry, Etsy, Ms. Danger's Blog
Yarn: Briggs & Little Durasport, Color: Blue Jean
Needles: 2.0mm dpns
Date Started: April 7, 2009

Date Finished: April 10, 2009
Finished Size: 6 inches tall
Other Supplies: 6mm safety eyes, felt scraps, polyfil, small piece of chenille stem, fabric glue, enough white yarn for a pompom.

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M and B both love their Maddoxes. These were such fun to knit and quite easy too. I'll be making more.

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Don't be fooled by the softness

Bob is done! I knew it wouldn't take long to finished 4 little legs. They have less than sixty stitches per leg. But now I know why I didn't finish this little guy before. The yarn was a very poor choice for a toy. B fell in love with it's softness, but it was not easy to work with for this project.

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Note how there are two strands: one evenly chenille-like (the white one) and the other with little slubby bits of chenille. The slubby strand changes color throughout the ball and gives little pops of pinkness as you progress. This I like. But the slubby bits also make the sewing up very difficult. Each little slub catches on the stitches you're trying to pull the tail through, making for some really big frustration, especially at the tight gauge I like to knit toys at.

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I will probably make more Bobs - I'm pleased with how he turned out, I'll just choose my yarn more wisely next time.

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Project Specs

Pattern: Bob designed by Anna Hrachovec

Pattern Source: Mochimochi blog, click on Free Patterns button

Yarn: Red Heart Buttercup, Color: White Coral Multi

Needles: 4mm dpns

Date Started: July 08

Date Finished: April 8/09

Finished Size: About 7" long x 5" wide

Other Supplies: 12 mm safety eyes, polyfil

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How much Snow is too much Snow?

My nephew in Victoria, BC finds it interesting how much snow we get in Northern Ontario. I just checked the Environment Canada weather data for our area to determine how much snow fell since October.

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A whopping 357cm! That's equivalent to 11 feet 8 inches.

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And that doesn't include our latest 3 day snowstorm.

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Just thought you'd like to know.

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More Hibernating Projects

B took this cute picture of Mia this weekend. I'm not sure why she decided to curl up in the sink, but she fits rather well and reminds me of a picture my BIL took of B about twelve years ago!

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Today's hibernating project is my Hemlock Ring Blanket from the summer of 2007. I love it, but ran out of yarn for the bind off and the yarn store nearby had closed.

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I should have just waited (and as it turns out waited and waited and waited) to find more yarn or just ordered some online somewhere, but instead, because I was in love and wanted my new blanket NOW, I continued. Full of denial, I willed myself to have enough yarn, even tightened up my knitting on the bind off to squeeze every last inch out of the quickly diminishing ball. And I got the results I wanted. I managed to bind off the blanket. However, I also got the results I was too deeply in denial to expect. The bindoff is nice and loose for about one quarter of the edge and then tightens up increasingly to the end. The result: A bind off that is too tight compared with the rest of the blanket. Something I'd reasoned with myself would "be ok when I block it". It's not.

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Since that time (I shoved the blanket far into a corner of my closet as it reminded me of my failings) a new yarn store opened nearby and carried the same yarn in the same colorway. Not the same dyelot, but my eyes can't tell the difference. And no, that's not more denial talking. Me and my Hemlock Ring have had enough time apart to give me objectivity and perspective. I will frog the bind off, and reknit it. Soon...

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... as soon as Bob has 3 more legs. I finished one yesterday.

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"Always Winter and never Christmas"

Both my dad and I felt the same way on Saturday. Funny that on opposite ends of the country winter is still holding fast and both of us are thinking of Mr. Tumnus' description of winter in Narnia! Only Dad was concerned about 3 inches, while we received over 12 inches on top of the over 10 feet that has already fallen this winter.

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Here's B and The Dog enjoying the lastest foot of snow that was dumped on us. They were out shoveling the snow away from the house so that we would be able to see out of the window again. They'd moved most of the snow by time this photo was taken. When there is no snow, B's head comes up to just above the handle of the snow shovel.

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And I've pulled a few projects out of hibernation. Must be this long winter that has hibernation on my mind!

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The first of several is Bob. This is a free pattern from Mochimochi Land. I started this last summer for B, but never finished for some reason. He just needs his little feet. I probably needed the needles for something I was more interested in!

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Ms. Maddox

I fell in love with Rebecca Danger's Maddox at first sight (on Lime & Violet) and bought the pattern as fast as I could.

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Rather than use the Magic Loop Method, I used dpn's, but made no modifications to her wonderfully written and humorous pattern.

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Ms. Maddox was all ready to sneak under the bed to steal socks, when she turned to me and asked whether making her a small handbag might be too much of an imposition. I gladly obliged, giving her a bright green handbag made from felt scraps. She's off to "shop" for socks now.

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This will be an Easter gift for B.

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The Adventures of Super Eraserman

No knitting content for today. All my current projects are non-bloggable, but I do have some doodles B made during Social Studies Class yesterday!

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