I woke up this morning with a magnificent cold, but I am not bummed out, for it is two days until I go meet the knitters in New Jersey, and three sleeps until I walk among the forces of Rhinebeck. Wool heals. I feel this.
That’s why, in the interest of healing my cold I am going to spend all day knitting and stash managing. If I didn’t have a cold I would totally spend today cleaning and doing laundry. Totally. I’ll need to start new socks since these are finished.
Monkey socks, Hazel Knits, Sailors Delight (currently sold out, but she’s got a mailing list going on and is dyeing as fast as she can.) A portion of each sale of this colourway goes to Doctors Without Borders, and it’s beautiful besides.
Modifications: I changed the top of the Monkey to a picot edge.
I read all the comments from yesterday, and the advice is overwhelmingly in accord. Wash the yarn first. Since I always do as I am told (stop that laughing) I’m washing it. A couple of people asked how I would wash the yarn if it was on the cone, so I thought I might explain before somebody tries that and blames me for the ensuing disaster. You can’t wash yarn on the cone. (I feel sure that this is definite.) I went and got my niddy-noddy, and I put the cone on the floor and started reeling it off.
When I’m making my own skeins I always try to keep in mind that I don’t want to make one bigger than I can eventually wind on my ball winder.
I tied it very carefully in 4 places. (There are instructions here on how to tie a skein.) I will leave to your imagination the absolutely gory consequences of attempting to wash a bunch of yarn if you haven’t prevented tangles properly. I shudder to think of the sodden heap of hopelessly commingled yarn that would result, and you can trust me, it does result. Thus secured, I removed it from the niddy-noddy and pitched it into a sink full of very hot soapy water.
(I used dish soap. I don’t think SOAK or Eucalan would do it.) I let it sit for a few minutes to become thoroughly wet, then swished and squeezed it for a little. (I am not worried about this yarn felting, but it might be a concern of mine with a different sort of yarn, so if you try this, don’t forget to use your brain.) I pulled it out and squeezed as much water out as I could, repeated with rinse water, then rolled it up in a towel and stood on it to get more water out, then hung it outside to dry. I’d guess that the total time investment (especially if you do not take pictures
) is about 10 minutes per skein.
(It is tied to that chair pretty darn firmly, lest yee think I forget the squirrel.) I happened to toss a washed and dried and an unwashed skein on the ground while I was taking pictures of the one on the chair and looked down.
I was struck (again) by the incredible difference between the washed (left) and the unwashed (right.) You guys were right to insist on the washing. The clean wool looks so much more appealing, it’s going to be way more pleasant to spend time with, which is good, since I’ve decided to go down a needle size. I was on the knitalong page for the Sunrise Circle Jacket, and saw a note from Kate Gilbert where she said that you want this fabric firm when knit, which, since I love this yarn so much I want to marry it, totally means I won’t be using another yarn and also won’t be getting gauge, which means I’m going to refigure the thing, which means…..
Well. That this yarn and I are likely going to be spending a lot of quality time together.
Wow, it looks so much better after washing. I think you made the right decision, and am glad you secured it from the squirrels!
Not fair. I’m sick too, and I don’t get to go to Rhinebeck. Enjoy it for me, and send some healing vibes my way.
Love the yarn – it really does look nicer washed. ANd it will feel nicer, and since you will be spending lots of time together, this is good.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who stands on rolled up towels to get more water out when handwashing!
yes, but will you be wearing it at Rhinebeck?
I’m working on getting to Rhinebeck, too. Wish there was some sort of forum for the festival. The hotel costs are killing me. All that money would be much better spent on yarn. Does anyone have an extra hotel room bed and would like to have a roomie to share the costs for Saturday night? This is the only place I can think to ask!
Beautiful yarn and I think it will be perfect for the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I’m glad the marauding squirrel didn’t still it away to commingle the new yarn with the wool he stole from you previously.
The washed yarn looks awesome. I bet it’ll be a pleasure to knit! And it is always good to know that there are many of us who stomp up and down on rolled towels full of wet wool, no matter what the family might think of us.
Great washing job. I use Dawn dishwashing (and wildlife-washing) liquid for all degreasing — cones, raw fleeces, etc. It leaves everything soft and fluffy and gets the grease OUT.
I also use HOT water and this is my method. Immerse all skeins in hot water, gently coax them into full saturation with a wooden spooon (keep poking them gently to hold them under the water until they are fully saturated).
Allow them to sit until the water has cooled completely (this can take quite some time, I usually leave it overnight).
Simultaneously, I fill a couple of buckets with rinse water and let them sit out so that the cooled water and rinse water will be the exact same temperature when I …
gently squish all skeins to allow any remaining oil and dirt to float out.
Drain the skeins, press them gently to remove excess water, and s-l-o-w-ly pour in the rinse water. I generally do this against the side of the washtub — don’t pour it directly onto the skeins. Or fleece.
Let this sit a few extra hours to allow for excess oil etc. to float out, then drain water, gently express remaining water, and hang to dry.
For fleeces I often do a second “cold” wash (Dawn in room temperature water) before rinsing. I place the fleece in a big mesh laundry bag before I beging the washing process, and usually use the bathtub.
Still haven’t heard if your box arrived? I hope it is not in the border prison for weird packages.
You are the second person in as many days who, heedless of the fact that it’s getting hard to wedge any more yarn into my stash closet, has inspired me with severe yarnal concupiscence. Right before Rhinebeck, yet.
Way to go.
Yay! I was just wondering where I could find more info on that knitty noddy thingy. Thanks! Love the pics. I hope we all get to vicariously enjoy your quality time with this yarn again soon.
Good Knitter. Good luck with the re-figuring.
Stephanie, I’m glad you decided to wash first and not tempt the Knitting Goddess. You KNOW what would have happened if you’d just gone ahead and knit it up. I especially loved yesterday’s comment quoting you the words of The Yarn Harlot!
Enjoy your low-key knitty day, and leave Sir Washie to his own devices.
Have fun at Rhinebeck. Wish I could be there.
Mary in MI
I wonder how Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap would be for washing oily yarn? I feel like it really cuts grease well. Then the yarn might smell very pretty.
I’m glad you decided to wash the coned yarn. I just went through this for a cone (so I could dye it too) and the skeins shrank in diameter to about 3/4 their starting size. Talk about radical transformations!
The yarn now looks yummy enough to eat.
I can’t help with an extra bed at Rhinebeck. I wasn’t even able to find a bed up there and will have to drive up from NYC.
Oh yeah; *much* better. It came alive. Just look at those two skeins lying there together. One’s dead, compared to the other. Much more fun knitting with live yarn!
Pretty socks; that’s a wonderful color, and I like the picot edge. Also like your reasoning for doing knitting and stash managing. (Cleaning and laundry? Right. Insert a deadpan look here.) Definitely must get better for New Jersey and Rhinebeck! Wool fumes overcome all, don’t they?
“Don’t forget to use your brain.” Best advice ever!
Yes, the clean one looks much better.
Are you considering a donation to the squirrel so that he has something to keep himself warm with over the winter?
Wow…I have three cones of yarns I bought from webs ages ago that I had been ignoring because it was so stiff and itchy. I guess I better wash up a bit of each of them 🙂 its like instant stash enhancement!!
The yarn really is super gorgeous! I bet it was worth the wait. And thank you for all the photos and reminders about washing and swatching and how-tos…I am finding I need these reminders more and more lately!
I’m having heart palpitations just thinking about unwinding that many yards of yarn. I mean, it’s a dang CONE of yarn. Hello. You lost me at ‘washing.’ I hadn’t even considered how you’d get it ready for washing!
Maybe this calls for one of those aforementioned “dumb yarn trick” scenarios where you take a friend out to a track, throw them the end of yarn, and yell, “Run like there’s a 75% off sale on cashmere!” One 5k later, you might actually have it all unraveled.
OH, and PS, I hope your cold gets better!
I’m very glad you decided to wash first. You’ll love to knit it more, now, and if you do have to do a LOT of revision on the sweater, you’ll be able to more accurately see the results!
Happy knitting!
Hooray! oh, much better all cleaned. I’m glad you went with that choice.
Hope your cold goes away soon, and yes, wool heals all!
Sailors’ Delight Monkey Socks look awesome! I just finished a baby sweater out of the Hazel Knits Seattle Mariners sock yarn — so fabulous (She is working on colourways for several different sports teams for next year’s Stitch and Pitch events across the US and Canada). I’ve also been in conversation with Wendee and know that Hazel Knits is in the process of developing several other spectacular colourways, so stay tuned to this dyer for sure!!!
I would totally spend today cleaning and doing laundry
i know about your relationship with mr washie, but cleaning? who are you kidding? 😉 feel better
Great socks. I’m going to have to break down and knit a pair of monkeys. One of these days. I’m glad you washed the yarn, it will be better this way. Are you sure you have to change needle size and do math? Really? Maybe you should knit another swatch with the washed yarn, re-wash, and re-measure. You know how gauge lies =) Maybe you’ll knit a bit different with the washed yarn?
OK, I’m totally doing this to my cone this weekend. Heck, I may not even wait until the weekend because it’s sitting next to my chair so that I see it every day when I come in from work and I’m in love with it before it’s washed. Don’t know how I’ll handle that after it gets washed and fluffed and even more pretty!
Urgh. I wish this was three years ago. And you were posting this before some dumbo I know got so excited about some coned yarn she bought that she knit the sweater STRAIGHT OFF THE CONE. She didn’t know better, but the resulting sweater did. There were tears. There were beers.
I like the way it looks on the chair. Get yourself a t-shirt in that color, to wear under the sweater.
I can’t get over the difference either.
I love your monkeys :o)Damn you and all your new yarn suggestions. My husband might hunt you down after this….more sock yarn that I *have to have* in my stash. He just doesn’t get it.
Awesome Monkeys. The picot edge is a nice touch. So is donating a portion of the lovely yarn proceeds to DWB/TSF. Yay Hazel!
And boy, does that yarn bloom! I’m very glad you decided to wash, though I’m sorry you decided to skein with the niddy-noddy as opposed to a few friends and a tank of Screech, a la SOAR.
Lovely. I still refuse to wash my cones. 😉
I wanted to add that you’re not alone in the dish soap department. I NEVER use soak. I love my dish soap. Plus it leaves my yarn smelling like a sheep bathed in green apples (hmmmmm), so I like it.
Do you know if there’s any reason NOT to use dish soap? Sometimes, I put a bit of hair conditioner in the bath with the freshly spun yarn, too, for its final rinse. It’s hair, right?? LOL!
As of about 30 minutes ago there was some more of that gorgeous sock yarn available @ HazelKnits. Of course I purchased some before posting this and can’t guarantee it’s still there but interested parties may want to take a peek…
I have some of that tweed yarn from Webs and really appreciate all the info about washing–mine doesn’t feel too bad but I’m eager to see the after–I already love the before. I don’t have a niddy-noddy but using something almost as good and really easy to make on your own–a piece of 2×4 with nails in it(3 in a triangle @ each end) You decide how long you want to make your skeins–mine has the nails about 2ft. apart, triangle tip to triangle tip. Got the idea from a clever knitter/yarn recycler’s blog. I love the internet.
Have a blast @ Rhinebeck. Hoping to see more variations on a theme re:Denny’s Stupid Yarn Tricks–Rhinebeck will be the perfect place to gather ideas, n’est-ce pas? And looking forward to your version of Kate’s Sunrise Circle Jacket–I’m having sympathy twitchy fingers!
“Since I always do as I am told (stop that laughing)”
No no. There is no end to the laughter at that statment I’m afraid.
One little comment – that has nothing to do with the yarn itself… More with the colour: I have read you a while and I kind of 🙂 – noticed you love: olive, rust, straw and nice greens.. But these are always subtle, tweedy, etc.. Nice, very nice by the way and you do wear it well !!!
Oh those sock are very pretty! And the washed yarn looks much more fun to knit with. It’s so pretty too!
I love your beautiful socks! They are so cheery. The picot edge was definitly the way to go. Your coned yarn transfomation is something that has to be seen to be believed It’s now the enticing stuff it was born to be.
I’ve got three cones of yarn that I need to skein and wash and roll into balls. Could you give a beginner some advice about what equipment I need to get? Until today, I didn’t even know something called a ‘niddy noddy’ existed!
I hope you feel better.
I have some yarn quite similar to that and I started a sweater and have since frogged the hell out of with expletives deleted!!! Maybe I’ll wash the yarn BEFORE I knit it the next time! Hope run into you at Rhinebeck. I fully hope to have a severe yarn fumes kinda day! Try echinacea and zinc to cure the cold faster!
Hey Sniffly Girl–how crummy to come down with a cold just before Rhinebeck. Since you solicited advice on yarn yesterday, I offer some unsolicited advice on colds: go to your local health food store, get some dried echinacea (both flowers and roots), make tea strong enough to float a battleship and drink gallons of it. It’s how I get rid of all my colds, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you feel better. Oh, and zinc helps a lot too.
Yay Rhinebeck! (This will be my first.) If I don’t run into you Saturday, I’ll definitely be there Sunday at the talk/booksigning! I hope you’re feeling better soon!
LOVE your Monkeys! I have that on my to do list.
And I look forward to seeing your Sunrise Jacket as you progress. That is also on my list.
Hope you recover quickly from your cold and have a blast at Rhinebeck!
Yay for washed yarn!!!
And yet another bit of unsolicited cold-ridding advice: Mrs. Grass’s noodle soup has worked okay for me and my folks. Try it, it’s good.
I was holding my breath to see if you, The YH, were going to knit with unwashed cone yarn. I kept wondering about opportunities for odd joins and strange row height issues, but remaining in awe of how it might work out. Now, I can breath. Hope the squirrel doesn’t get busy with his teeth…
Sorry about your cold. Have some vitamin c with your wool, poor thing. The washed wool is gorgeous. I would be tempted to keep it in one gigantic skein, to avoid ends. (I’m currently weaving in 10,000 ends on a vest made from 50g balls.) This may result in a tangled mess…
Someday, someday, when I’m not a poor undergrad student, I will go to Rhinebeck. I’m tempted to see if I can do my program on the east coast just so I can maybe do this.
I think Mr. Squirrel has learned his lesson. Well maybe not. College has proved that squirrels are remarkably vicious, stupid creature.
See, there is a reason to be thankful for a bad cold after all!!! Your socks are lovely. I really like the picot edge!
Thanks for doing all this research on cone yarn for us. All this technical stuff is as much fun as the knitting, don’t ya think?!?!? I have some alpaca sport-weight yarn on cones and wonder if I should wash that before using it. I wash my skeins the same way as you and have had good results. Abby Franquemont has a great tutorial on washing (and abusing) your skeins so that they have done anything weird that they might do before you knit with the yarn. All this talk of skeining and niddy noddys makes me want to visit my spinning wheel!!!
Stephanie,
Please listen to Stephanie posting at 1:44 and do another swatch. Who knows what might happen. it will only take ten minutes. Please!!
haahee. As soon as I saw the picture on the chair I thought “boy, I hope she secured it from the… oh, yup, squirrel safe.” That was my laugh for the morning:)
Since yesterday I have watched the qty go down at Webs on this yarn – Amazing power you have there Harlot!
Is it just me or isn’t that Toffee Color just Lovely? I already have the brown yarn for my Drops cardigan….but now I am re-thinking….UGH.
I wonder, would it be silly of me to ask? If you have your skeins all tied up and you have washed them nicely and not felted them or anything would it be stupid to place them in the washing machine (empty mind you) inside a bag or pillowcase and just run the spin cycle for like 2 or 3 minutes? I do this with felted items to remove the maximum amount of water and then I shape them and everything seems okay (the felting process doesn’t seem to progess) but I dont know if this would be a good idea for something you didnt want to felt. Any thoughts?
I think washing the yarn was probably a good idea. I wonder though if you hung the oily yarn out on the chair if Mr. Squirrel would come along and think ‘eew’ and leave your fiber in peace… No? You’re probably right.
The socks are lovely–I just first-time ordered and received a skein of Greenlake sock yarn from Hazel Knits. Wendee is delightful and the yarn is gorgeous. She included a stitch marker too–very pretty. I think the yarn will become monkey socks, but it’s in the queue behind my socks in progress, my Kool-Aid dyed yarn and the pirate socks I’m knitting for my son for Christmas…so in the meantime I will just pet it and gaze at it admiringly.
Feel better! And have a blast at Rhinebeck–can’t wait to hear about it and see the pics.
I must disagree with whoever said you should let the bath cool! I recently learned this the hard way (is there any other?) with an obscene amount of fine laceweight. (As it happens, I’m washing a few thousand yards right now….) As I understand it the important point is to give the yarn a good hot soak to release the oils and to take it out WHILE THE BATH IS STILL HOT. Otherwise, as the bath cools, the machine oils will congeal right back onto the surface of the yarn. I believe the temperature of the water is way more important than the soap/surfactant you use – I find my usual wool wash (um, actually Mane & Tail shampoo…) works perfectly for this. (Ack – must fly and get those skeins out of the bath before it cools!)
I actually use a large salad spinner I got from my local thrift store to spin the skeins nearly dry, then hang them. It takes about a day to dry at that point.
Just dry 2 at once that way, otherwise it gets out of balance.
Megan – I haven’t done this myself, but my “yarn slave” Jennifer (vanValcar Acres – Flock Sock) spins all her hand-dyed yarns out that way and it works beautifully. She doesn’t even use a bag; just places the skeins gently in the basket part of the machine and sets it going.
For Megan: I do that with my cashmere sweaters – hand wash them first (I use shampoo), squeeze out water, and put them into the washing machine on the DELICATE spin cycle to get out the most water. I don’t use a pillowcase or mesh bag, just put them in. Then I shape them and put them on a drying rack. They usually dry overnight.
Plus, it’ll be nicer to knit with now that it’s clean and soft, and not sticky. It’s so beautiful! And I’m loving your monkeys.
What is it with the sick and FO’s? I was sick all weekend with 3 kids, 2 of whom were also feeling icky, and hubby was in FL for a FOOTBALL GAME, but that’s another story, and I finished 3 things! THREE THINGS! One of which I also started that weekend! It helped that the soccer games were canceled due to much thunder and lightening. But wow. I’m beginning to wonder.
Next. Oh my gosh, that is so beautiful. I don’t think yarn is a good enough word. Calling it yarn, while there are also other things called yarn that don’t even begin to compare, seems to be an insult. Seeing that makes me want to make a big crock pot of soup, bake some bread, bake some pumpkin cookies, and go rake leaves and then jump in them. I love the tweedy bits of color jumping out of there. We need better computers so we can feel/smell/squish it too.
And, thanks for the pictures of the monkey socks. I was wondering if they’d look ok with a striping yarn. They look great? How many monkey’s do you have anyway? Can one have too many of the same pattern if it’s in a different color?
Dude – you totally were doing laundry. It just wasn’t *their* laundry.
The yarn looks “scrumptious” and if you want to kick the cold in the arse, find yourself some Emergen-C. It calls itself a supe Energy booster, but what it really is, is 1000 mg of Vitamin C with minerals and B vitamins. It will shorten the length of your cold tremendously and make you feel human on top of it. It replaces the things that you let go down at SOAR.
Wait…why weren’t you worried about it felting? It’s 100% wool…confused…what am I missing here?
Socks are lovely, and I’m sure that you’ll be able to rework the jacket pattern with no problem. Good luck! =)
Oh my god! Seeing your monkey’s made me realize I put mine to soak 2 hours ago. On the bright side, I guided a kid through fall room cleaning and caulked a recently painted bathroom in those two hours.
Whew, the monkey’s have been “processed” and are lying flat, doing their drying thing. I copied your picot edge from when you started them and I’m glad I did.
One other modification I *think* I see is that you make your gusset decreases with one stitch between the decrease stitches and the instep. Am I imagining that? It gives a cleaner line. I might even be able to remember that for future socks all on my own.
Get well.
I am so sorry to hear about the cold… Hope it goes away as fast as it came.
I don’t know if any other manufacturers make this, but Majacraft makes a wheel-powered skeinwinder. Treadle the wheel and the skeinwinder goes round and round! Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Oh, sure, you can roll/stomp on towels or put it in the POST-COLD-RINSE spin cycle of the washing machine if you want to be selfish. But going out in the back yard and swinging it wildly amuses the neighbors much more.
“Don’t forget to use your brain.” I like it — but… what am I supposed to use to remember not to forget with?
I will bring extra tissues to Rhinebeck, just in case.
Any chance you will post some pre-Rhinebeck advice for us newbies? I will be there for only as much of Saturday as the tour director (who gets to tell the bus when to come and go) will allow and I don’t want to miss anything important. My knitting group is counting on me for a full report – my job is to show up with the camera and remember to record it all, between additions to my yarn treasury. That is a tall order – better take some extra vitamins!
Damn, I had to go and put that pattern in my queue on Ravelry. I just wonder…would it be flattering for a short, busty gal? I love the design, but I’m afraid it’s gonna make me look like a bratwurst.
Those socks are really beautiful. So sorry to hear about the cold. As I recall you have some super-duper Canadian cold medicine. I hope it helps.
It sounds rather indelicate to tell you that I like your Monkeys.
I’m glad you did the Right Thing. When I read a comment about hanging the skeins outside, my first thought was, “Oh, Noooooo! Remember the squirrel!” This just looks like yarn that any squirrel would do any number of nefarious acts to acquire. (Squirrels? Knitters, even!)
Yeah, one more swatch wouldn’t be a bad idea before changing needle sizes. I handle thin yarn differently than thicker yarn, I know. So you may want to stun all those who know you and knit yet another swatcheroo.
Get Better! Heal, Heal! And have a marvelous time at Rhinebeck! Maybe someday, I’ll be able to come….
“Don’t forget to use your brain.”
Brilliant. MUCH better than “Do as I say and not as I do.”
I have some Donegal tweed yarn on a cone that I bought ages ago and the reason for NOT using it up is how nasty that oily yarn is to knit with. Washing first was truly the right decision!! I better get my swift out and wind me some skeins. :o)
I’m another who’s wondering why you’re not worried about this yarn felting. Could someone give a quick explanantion for the ignorant?
Thanks for the information on washing the wool, especially how to tie the skein BEFOREHAND. I was given a bag of gorgeous natural wool, all needing to be washed. I had no idea how to do it, so I hung it in the closet (in a moth-free ziploc zone). Now I know…..
Wow! I learned a lot! I think your sweater is going to be beautiful…question…is your favorite color green?
I do hope that you start feeling better soon. It would be awful to be sick at Rhinebeck. On an aside, the socks are lovely and I cant wait to see what you do with the reward yarn. It is beautiful.
Have you finished totally the Doctors without Borders donations that were lost? I have not received email from you saying that my donation was counted (actually recounted).
We knitters have weird words for things. It took me a while to get used to using the term “frogging” when “tink” came along. Now “niddy noddy”????? I had to click your link to see what it was. It’s a new one on me!
When I saw the close-up of the washed yarn on the chair I said “oooooh” right out loud, I really did.
Beautiful yarn, and beautiful sweater ahead!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17225816@N00/1606586864/
a pic of the sodden heap of hopelessly commingled yarn, the absolutely gory consequences of attempting to wash a bunch of yarn without double-checking the original ties
Thank you for the postings . Each time I read them I learn something new including new words haha. Wrap yourself tight in the lovely yarn and get rid of the cold–I too believe it will work. Niddy Noddy and washing yarn from a cone and how to do it and how to tie it in skeins and and and I thank you for all that is new to me . Never too old to learn.
So, you are going to do another swatch then? With the washed yarn, yes? And wash it again, etcetera?
(I can’t turn off the control freak in me, even from an ocean away)
Yarn looks much nicer now it is washed, it was pretty before but now it is de-oiled, I’m wanting some…
Oh, the Sunrise Circle Jacket! That is my favorite knit that I’ve made. It is also the one that gets the most compliments and question from other knitters. (I was stopped before I even made it inside the last fiber fest I went to.)
I just got some of that yarn from Webs also, so now I guess I need to make the “to wash” or “not to wash” decision.
I know, double commenting, do I never shut up? (Not really. [g]) But it struck me that really, considering the thank-yous for info; startlement on the idea of washing coned yarns; questions on *how* to wash them; questions about felting worries; questions about how to get the yarn off the cones; and much etc…. As someone who learned to spin and weave *before* she started knitting – I took it up in self-defense, the oddball stash kept growing – I keep forgetting all this info isn’t generally known to every knitter out there.
I have to ask: Am I just missing something? Or haven’t any bright spinning/weaving folks thought about promoting lots of one-day workshops, or written a small book of quick tips, or *something* for knitters who’ve never gotten into these other fiber addictions? (Or don’t want to. That’s ok; we understand not everyone wants to spin and weave as well. [g]) Again, maybe I just haven’t run across such a book or whatnot, and there’s the perfect one out there already. But if there is, sure sounds like a lot of knitters haven’t heard of it either. Usually the info is buried in some big honkin’ tome that would scare the willies out of someone who just wants to know a few handy tips, without having to wade through umpteen index references at the back of the book. Or you only hear about it from the spinning/weaving faction, which many knitters never even run into…so while one side knows so-and-so gives a great workshop, the other side is clueless. Seems to me there’s a gap that needs simpler bridging or something. Maybe with the aid of trumpets.
And before all the other spinners/weavers chime in with, “Check the net!” – not everyone wants to search through all the hits Google would bring up, on multiple sites. 😉 (Although a great place to start would be the newsgroup rec.crafts.textiles.yarns – you can ask questions pretty much about *anything* involving yarn there and get ’em answered. [g]) Plus, far too often people don’t even know what questions to ask – until they know more. Which kind of defeats the “quick reference” part of the equation.
That looks to be the exact yarn I made an afghan out of for Afghans For Afghans. I washed it beforehand, and it did change the color, and it made it so much nicer to work with. It made for a warm, dense, practical blanket.
Rhinebeck cometh
Um, Harlot, are you asking for trouble by pre-blooming your yarn? I’d strongly suggest reswatching. You got the gauge you wanted when you knit first, then bloomed. That’s no guarantee you’ll get the same gauge when you knit the already bloomed yarn.
Sheesh, I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right I may have to change my name to Yarn Prophet, eh?
Or maybe just Smart__ss?
Hi Steph, Hopefully you will get enough rest before the next set of fiber and yarn fumes get to you. I keep wondering if there is a hat lady for Rhinebeck. I will bring the hat just in case I guess. I thoroughly enjoyed the cone washing blogs. I usually dye whatever yarn I have from cones so did not realize about how the oil and tension flatten it. I kept thinking that the dye must fluff it up. oh well. Now I know. Don’t you have some unusable gansey fluff to leave for Mr Squirrel?
See ya Sunday. Namaste
Beautiful socks, beautiful washed yarn. I hope you follow all the helpful advice and feel better soon. I can’t wait for Rhinbeck. We’re leaving on Friday and driving down and stopping at bead shops on the way, feeding two addictions in one weekend. We’re planning to hear you speak on Sunday-really looking forward to it.
Wait…Is that another pair of Monkies? I didn’t know you could knit the same pattern twice! Maybe this is some sign of mental growth?
Glad you decided to wash the yarn. I think you made the right choice. I love the Monkey socks. I am thinking about knitting a pair, too, and also plan on doing the picot top. Have fun with your big adventures!
Came across this: http://tinyurl.com/2fpljv You are now a knitting guru – will you start carrying a sitar around & playing it?
Hi —
I’ve been lurking for a long while now and now have a couple of questions for you. The first is: Can you recommend a stash management process? How do you organize your yarn? I have Rubbermaid tubs full of yarn, but I have no clue how to organize it outside of weight or color. My main problem is that I have 3 cats and a dog and one of the cats loves the yarn.
My second question is: Do you sell the yarn you spin? You spin some beautiful yarns and I haven’t been able to find any in the States.
Thanks!
Ruth in CT, USA
I think you will like this post by a friend of mine..
http://weblog.xanga.com/Jude1_22/622067420/spinning-woolhome-education-at-its-finest.html
Did you tie the fibre down reeeeeally good? I mean we’re not talking about your average squirrel….
The Monkey socks are to die for!
I can tell you exactly what happens when you don’t tie a skein properly- This! http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1235/1249131653_ccbad63d8d_o.jpg
…never again shall I make the same mistake…
The yarn looks so lovely. :] Definitely a good idea that you went ahead and washed it beforehand. I get turned away by projects where the yarn isn’t turning out the way I thought it would. And the washed is a lot brighter and more pleasing to the eye. Great job selecting it!
I’m curious about the “hot” water washing.
I was always told never, ever to wash any knitted item in hot water (except maybe cotton you wanted to shrink).
Not true?
I use a rolling pin to get out excess water…
Note to self: If going to SOAR, wear the appropriate foundation undergarments for running.
Coned yarn is part of what makes weaving the adventure that it is. We weave with unwashed coned yarn, and the product we cut off the loom bears little resemblence to the washed product. It’s like magic.
ACK – the toffee color was swipped out from under me – darn me for mentioning here! ACK.
Lovely gal at Webs assured me that is was indeed gone.
*But she did ask that The Harlot – warn them when she is going to talk about something!
Very sweet gal to talk to though.
I have a request: could you post a photo or two of your beautiful handknit socks modelled with some shoes? I like to see them In action – so to speak- in a “real life” situation. Please.
Glad you washed first!
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but Marlton, NJ is only about 20 miles from Philadelphia. I’ve conned my boyfriend into driving me there, so you’ll have more than just Jersey knitters at your event. Look forward to seeing you!
Gorgeousy gorgeous yarn. Just gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous–hypergorgeous!
Hope to see you in Rhinebeck!
so…where did you use the word “commingled”?
Much better washed. Looks a little TIGHT AND WAXY unwashed and much softer and cooperative washed.
Steph – you’re talking about the Valley Yarns English Tweed that’s featured as DK weight? It washed to 18 gauge?!? Wow – I’d been ogling it for a Cobblestone for my son… so now I have to decide …it’s between the dark gold or the lichen, methinks…
Just finished reading “The Yarn Harlot”. I had already read “Knitting Rules”. I so relate to you even though your wonderful humor and quick wit are not part of my talents. We have much in common. I, too, learned to knit at age four but my mother taught me unlike your lessons from your grandmother. I am compulsive about my knitting. I panic if I finish a project while we are traveling and I don’t have another in the back seat. I knit about 60 baby sweaters for Lutheran World Relief each year so I do use lost of acrylic yarn since it’s so washable. I buy lots of it at the Thrift Stores. Hopefully, this supports another charity as well.
You asked your readers to drop you a line about places to store “stashes”. With all the knitters with whom you interact, you’ve probably heard this one before but here goes. I’m a grandmother of ten. The oldest is 24 and the youngest is two. I keep a cradle and a crib in my house. I started with the cradle. It was a charming place to store my yarn and my finished projects after my grandchilldren outgrew it. The two year old sleeps in his “Thomas the Train” slumber bag now so doesn’t want the crib anymore and I am presented with this fabulous place for my growing stash. It’s perfect. All your wonderful yarn is highly visible.
I am getting ready to read “Cast Offs”. Thank you for all the laughs.
Joan Ott
My husband has watched me knit for over forty years without comment. He heard you talk at Rhinebeck, bought “Meditations” and hasn’t stopped talking about you since! I missed your talk, too busy admiring yarn. Ann
You’ve probably seen the unfortunate article about your NJ visit in the Courier Post (courierpostonline.com). I’ve lived lots of places, also in NJ, but managed to get out alive. From that experience one comes away with a great sense of relief that the whole world isn’t like that and also road rage. Please excuse the ignorance, they think NJ IS the whole world and anything said from one still living there should be taken with a grain of salt and a shot of Anisette. That’s all I have to say, now back to my bagel and cream cheese.
It looks so much nicer after the washing. I must ask, is that snow on the ground there? (oh, how I wish for snow, but I will take a good hard freeze)
You are such an enabler! I downloaded the monkey socks pattern after first reading this entry, and just placed an order for Sailors Delight with Hazel Knits. Please don’t show pictures of anything else I might want to make!
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