Busy Bee

I in no way meant to neglect this blog, and if you've been on any of my other social media site you can see that I've been busy!

Speaking of which, I've joined a few new ones.  Here's the list of where I'm at:

Blogger: http://rcozyknits.blogspot.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RCozyKnits
Google+: https://plus.google.com/108753918272315672879/posts/p/pub
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rcozyknits  NEW!
Ravelry:http://www.ravelry.com/people/Freckleface78
Ravelry Designer Page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/rachel-sanchez
Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RCozyKnits
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RCozyKnits
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGebKHn123t4cstnMGsh5Q  NEW! 


Whew.  Just looking at that makes me tired.  lol  Putting that list down was as much for me as it is for you.  I kept confusing myself where I posted stuff; which is one reason why I've not written for so long.  I gave an update on Facebook and not here by accident.  Hopefully as I go forward from here I'll figure out a system to keep it smooth.

So, advertising is a boring part of the business but necessary.  Moving on!

I put out my pattern and asked for test knitters.  I found a couple but I also found an error with my pattern.  While my husband requested a certain kind of closure it just didn't work with the felted fabric that he also requested.  So I thought it out, did a test run and he likes it.  So I fixed up his bag and fixed up the pattern.  I took new pictures and I'm ready to try again to ask for more test knitters.  The two are still interested but more is better.  I'm going to reach out to a test knitting group on Ravelry and see how that goes.  If anyone reading this blog wants to test knit a bag please email me!

Same great bag, better cinching closure.

Oh,  and Tour de Fleece!  I took lots of photos as I went along.   You all have seen the colorful yarns I spun but then I moved on to my SAPGAP order.  I have one more skien to spin up and then I'll be done.

The kids want dinner.  Why do they feel the need to eat everyday?  Sheesh!  :P  So I'll leave you with a teaser for now and tell you more tomorrow...

Tour de Fleece 2014, Day 9

Ok. I freely admit it. I'm addicted to spinning and I don't care who knows it!  I have no regrets!

The last time I wrote a blog wntry it was day 3.   It is now day 9. My lack of computer is holding me back, too, but Ishould  have it back in a few days.  That will be a relief!

Let's see, what exactly have I been doing?

I've washed a few pounds of fleece and started picking the vegetable matter out of it. 

Its the Ramboulett and Targhee fiber I bought recently. 

I also have been spinning a lot!  For a few days I spun a new technique for me. This wool had (suri?) locks (angelina?) and I only flicked it - no carding or eoving. It qas my first lock spinning. The tiny knots hurt my hands trying to oull it thin but it was so woth it!

Trying to decide what to pair it with took quite some time. Blue wool?  White suri?Chocolate  huacaya?   I finally decided on this lovely mystery batt if wool-alpaca-(rayon?) in black/white/purple.

The gorgeous 517 yard skein crying out to me to be a shawl!  I will oblige it!  What was left I plied back on itself (72 y). 

Next I spent an afternoon weighing out 50g piles of fiber for two SAPGAP trades.   The batts went into bags and the rovings went into small balls. 

Yesterday I spent all day spinning a fine yarn that I think will end up being a 2-ply lace weight.   This is a Merino-Coromo cross. 

 Tonight I will work more on its ply-mate. 

I cannot forget to tell you that I'm almost done writing the Luck Sack pattern!  I need to edit a bit more and get some pictures taken and it'll be ready for test knitting!  I expect to have it ready in the next day or two. :)

Tour de Fleece

Hello!  I'm sorry to have missed so many days in a row - I've been busy! My kids have had activities, I've worked on my guild newsletter, I've been working on various small housecleaning projects, and now Tour de Fleece is here!

What's that?  Never heard if Tour de Fleece?  Well allow me to enlighten you!

Every year in France there is a giant bike race (look it up if you don't believe me). Some brilliant sports fan thought; hey, they have wheels, we have wheels. Lets spin ours while they spin theirs... And TdF was born. 

This is actually my first year participating so I don't know a lot about the history but I think it started in a blog. Now the official postings are in Ravelry (a giant fiber community).  

I've joined with my guild in Team Black Sheep Guild 2015.  We are a "wildcard" team which means we can make up our own prizes and competitions for our group. 

I've donated one of my project bags and other members have donated fiber for our "most improved" category.  Members of our guild post what their goal is to accomplish and, at the end, tell how they feel they did with their goal. Other guild members will vote on the winner. 

I'm also going to make a fun mini poster for whomever spins the most yardage, poundage, and the most yardage worked up into a project. 

The pictures I'm posting today are of my work the last three days. Many of the singles I spun earlier but plying is being counted towards yardage. I made my first art yarn using up the misc bits that I spun when I first started leaning my wheel in December.   I really like how it turned out!

P.S. I finished knitting & felting the Luck Sack bags!  Pics coming soon!

External links:  

Guild newsletter:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzvzNc9wzml2VzAxRXBBcnd6OUk/view?usp=drive_web&pli=1

Tour de Fleece:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tour-de-fleece 

Color Play

The dyeing I did yesterday cam out too unsaturated so I gave the yarn another go. While I liked the new tones, they are notvwhat I am looking for for this project. I'll have to play with saturation formulas later. After today's effort, I  am happy to say that I reproduced the saturated testcolors  rather well!  

I am well into knitting a second version of the brown bag to be felted. :). For both the felted and tightly-knit versions I am ready to add the intarsia. Now, with dyed and dried yarn in hand, I can begin!

Dyeing with Wilton

 I finally got my husband to confess what the look on his face was already telling me; he didn't like the Koolaid dye.  It lost something when knit in with the brown yarn into the bag.  The top stripe was fine, but the shamrock was getting lost.  He didn't want to be picky but I invited him to be.  (I reminded him just how excited I am to *finally* knit something for him.)

He finally pulled out a circuit board and said that's the color he's looking for.


So that night I took my stuff to my guild night and asked the ladies what they thought.  I could either buy the yarn (the shop didn't have my requirements in stock) or I could try Wilton dying.  I decided to do that.  So I did some research online and found some info.


This site has marvelous info on various kinds of dyeing: http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/wilton-general.html
These are the directions I followed (for the most part) and I am SO inspired by her gorgeous roving and yarn!  I will need to play with her technique some more.   http://keeponknittinginthefreeworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/wiltons-icing-gel-dying-tutorial.html


I bought three colors of Wilton icing dye at Michael's Craft store this afternoon; Kelly Green, Moss Green, and Juniper Green.  The Juniper label looked like what I wanted but I wasn't 100% sure how it would translate on yarn so I grabbed the three to play with.  They were about $2.45 a piece (1 oz.) and I had a 40% off coupon.


I got out some mason jars; pints for my mix jars and quarts for my cooking jars.  I mixed them up according the [the second website above]'s directions with vinegar and water.  Then I poured about half into jar and added a cup of warm water.  I dropped in a mini skein (tied at two points) of 10 yards into each jar and stirred it slightly.  Then I lined them up and they jars took turns nuking in the microwave for two minutes.  I think each jar when through three times but I was distracted by my kids.   Anyway, the water became see through.  The last little bit didn't get absorbed as I had overloaded the water.  That's okay.

I let them cool and later pulled them out with tongs and tossed them into a colander and rinsed.  (I wasn't sure if they'd leak on me.  Turns out they were fine, but I didn't want green fingers.)  I squeezed out the excess water and hung them up to dry.

When I check on them later I could see the final color (dry fiber will sometimes look different than when wet.)  They were close, but I decided to play with the fourth mini skein I had set aside.  I mixed a quarter cup of each the Kelly and Moss greens together in a mason jar and added the cup of water and yarn.  I really like how this one came out.  I think its the computer-board green he's wanting.  We'll see when it's completely dry!

Furthermore, I also finally set some alpaca yarn that I finished spinning a few weeks ago.  It is what I was spinning at World Wide Knit in Public Day.  That was my final batt I was working on from that fiber.  It was the very first fiber I processed raw from the animal and I am so excited that it is finally done!  Most of it I spun on my drop spindle  Only two of these skeins where spun on my wheel and the other was plied on my wheel. 


I'm a bit embarrassed that one of the skeins got messed up but this is real life and it's not always pretty.  Somehow there was only one single tie on it when I usually do four!  I didn't realize it until I was hanging it up.  I will probably re-skein it after it is dry and re-set it again.