More Feelings

Here are the other two balls of Opal Feelings (from yesterday) knit up.

These are sized Medium, done on the 54 cylinder with 40 row mock-rib hem top, 65 row leg, and 60 row foot.

I actually got three socks from each ball. And lest I don’t meet any three-legged sock seekers, I have more of the same yarn to knit off an even number ;o)

Like the XL pair yesterday, I didn’t try to match up my starting points within the pattern, but simply started the second sock where the first left off.

I love Opal colours but it IS one of the yarns in my stash with more knots and pattern interruptions.

It stresses my need to have all things orderly. However the stress of mismatching is oft less stressful than actually fighting to make the match - the lesser of evils, from an OC point of view ;o)

How Hot Is It?

32 degrees may be darn cold in the US of A. But here in Canada it is !$#%!#$^!#@ HOT!!

The sheep and I, on occasion, share a day dream....

It being Tuesday, I’m off to a sweltering day at the Keady Farmers Market.....

H--m-m-m-m ...snow

Feelings, Woe, Woe, Woe

That song drove me to distraction, but Opal Feelings sock yarn is a pleasure ;o)

I needed a break from the Sport Socks series I've been working on, so I switched yarns and switched machines (from the 54 cylinder to the 72).

Here are three yarns from Opal's Feelings series:

The colours, from left to right: # 1705, #1701, # 1703
All are the usual Opal 4 ply 425m/100g, 75% wool/ 25% nylon

I got these online from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions (same place I got the Kaffe Fassett Regia).

After fiddling with rainbow colours last week, you'd think I would pick the Blues to work with, but for some reason, I picked the #1705. I changed yarns and machines, but not colours!

Here's the first pair off the blocks:

Believe it or not, both socks are actually the same size - Men's XL. For some reason, due to the limitations of camera or photographer, or both, I get a distortion with L and XL socks that I don't seem to get on Medium.

But in any event, these are size XL. Done with my normal 40 row mock-rib hem top, followed by 95 rows for the leg, heel, 85 rows for the foot, and toe. I easily got this pair from 1 ball of Opal, with more than 10 grams to spare.

To accomplish this feat (bad pun) I did not try and skip ahead in the ball to start the second sock at the same point in the pattern.

This pair will fit a men's shoe size 13 - 15, and the 72 stitch circumference is sufficiently generous for 'most' legs.

Feelings on the farm....

A car pulled into the driveway. Inside were two 'old' people, and one 'old old old' people.

The 'old' people, a brother and sister, said they used to spend their summer vacations at this farm during the 40's. The farm, at the time, belonged to their uncle (the old old old guy) in the back seat.

Their favourite game to play, at the time, was jumping off a big rock in the farm lane. The big rock was next to a smaller rock that had a 'blasting' hole in it. They wanted to know if the rocks were still there, and if so, could they visit them.

Indeed, both rocks are still there - and any children that visit the farm today ALWAYS want to go to the jumping rock.

So slowly down memory lane they walked.

I stayed back with Uncle Elmer, who, in his late 90's, wasn't up for the stroll.

And I mused - I wonder if the kids who now visit this farm - 70 years from now - will remember their iPods and imported plastic crap, or if they too will remember 'the jumping rock'.

Woe Woe Woe....

Braces for a Blow Fish

Do you know what this is?




If you have a sock machine, you know.

If you are getting an antique sock machine, it will most likely come with one of these. My advice:

Take this to the nearest lake and throw it as far as you possibly can. Or if you don't live near a lake, dig a hole as deep as you possibly can and bury this. Yes, I know there are environmental implications to this advice, but frankly, some things are more important than a green earth, and this is one of them.

This wire and metal horror is the dreaded Set-up Basket - what you use to get work started on the machine. Your Cast-On Assistant.

The basket is shown upside down. Right side up, you hold it inside the cylinder and wrap your starting scrap yarn around one needle, then one little arm thingy on the basket; then the next needle and the next thingy and so on until you have gone around the cylinder. Then you hang a weight on the rod protruding from the centre, to apply your tension.

This @&^@*&!$##@ basket is what took me, and I expect many, so-o-o-o long to finally get the machine going. It seemed an easy task when first contemplated, and I'm sure my large man's two left hands stuffed inside a 4.5" cylinder from both directions exacerbated the situation, but honestly....this little beast is the reason I had to 'walk away' so many times before battling the machine into submissive, albeit tentative, functioning mode.

When I FINALLY got this thing happening, the first thing I made was this:

This is a Set Up Bonnet, and it takes the place of the wire monstrosity from Hades.

The Set Up Bonnet is just a hem top sock, with a pico edge, that has no heel or toe to make - pretty much the same as the Arm Warmers I showed a few days ago.

With a pico edge, you have the 'bar' of the skipped stitch, hiding between the real stitch on either side. To use the Set Up Bonnet, you snag the stitchless bar with your hook tool and place it over one the the cylinder needles. Then you fish the next bar and put it on the next needle, and so on all around the cylinder. You can even skip every other needle and you will still have enough 'contact' to get going.

After a few uses, the bars become stretched into actual loops, as seen in the picture. Setting up for work becomes quick and easy.

The Set Up Bonnet should always be Job #1.

I've also heard of people using things like the string bags oranges come in. And at a demo one time, when I forgot the bonnet, I actually took off one of my socks and pulled stitches from the hem over the needles to get started (yes, the sock was ruined!).

I've got several bonnets (and one former sock) - one for each cylinder. The one pictured is the one in the best condition to show publicly. I should probably make some new ones, but they get the job done.

Meanwhile back at the farm...

Some of the earlier born lambs are really getting to be a size. Here are two ewes, each with twins. I think they are suckling more pounds of lamb than they are carrying on their own backs. They will want weaning soon! The lambs have learned to graze from their dams, and she will kick them off the teats as her milk declines. These lambs are about 8 - 9 weeks old.

Sheyds of Grey

After days and days of bright colours on the sock machine .... a grey dey at the dye pot.

Sometimes things go black by accident; or to cover up an accident; but these two lots were all according to plan. And while plain blacks and greys aren't typically my thing, these will make great combinations with some lively colour.

The row on the right is 2 ply worsted weight Mule Spun yarn, 100% wool from the flock. The colour is Charcoal Grey.

The row on the left is also 2 ply worsted weight Mule Spun, but this time only 30% wool and the other 70% is alpaca. Colour Jet Black.

'What is Mule Spun?" says you.

"Most woollen mills spin yarn on draw frames. The fibre is drawn out and spun as in a single motoin, and under a constant tension. A mule spinner, ancient technology dating to the 1700's, draws out a short length, stops, loops the spun yarn around the spindles, stops, draws out another length, and so on.

"The stopping allows the fibre to return to its natural tension and the resulting yarn is as close to hand spun as you can get mechanically. The term 'mule' refers to the hybrid nature of the machine - a cross bred between hand and machine.

"Mule spun yarn is softer and loftier than would be the same fibre spun on draw frames.

"To my knowledge there is only one commercial mule spinner left in the USA and one in Canada", says I.

And speaking of grey,

Here is the story of my grey cat, Kitty (of course), who passed two years ago.

I live in the country.

And the country is where some townsfolk drive, late at night, to get rid of their unwanted cats.

Sometimes they even slow down before chucking the cat out the window.

And so it was that one morning Kitty staggered into my yard, one leg clearly broken, and a body so devoid of mass I could count his ribs from a distance.

I have a 'death' allergy to cats. My throat simply closes. But I took some dog food in a bowl to Kitty, which he promptly consumed. I put more food in the bowl and took it to the barn. And Kitty moved in.

Before long Kitty was fit as a fiddle and a champion mouser. But poor Kitty longed for affection. And I, with my allergies, was unable to oblige.

There is a lot of manual labour on a farm, and I go through a pair of work gloves every few months. So I struck a deal with Kitty - every time I was ready to start a new pair of work gloves I would pet him with old gloves, then promptly dispose of the gloves.

Perhaps not an ideal relationship, but hey, it is worked for us and Kitty was with me until a ripe old age.

And lest the dey end on grey.....

Here is the progress on my berry coloured sport socks. Current colour, Prochem's wash fast acid dye Key Lime.

m-m-m-m-m-m; Key Lime Pie!

Wether Ewe Go

Here's a Columbia ewe with twins at foot:

These twins were about 12 lbs each at birth. So 24 lbs of lamb born out of a 190 - 200 lb ewe. And you will appreciate there is A LOT of pre-birth and afterbirth that also comes from this ewe. In fact sheep, amongst all farm animals can give out about the highest % of their own body weight at birthing time.

Or, expressed another way, imagine a 140 lb woman giving 35 lbs out of her body!

All of this weight, not to mention milk production thereafter, expends an enormous amount of energy.

Josh, who you met yesterday, is your basic couch potato. He eats and grows wool. He's not wasting energy fighting with the other boys, making milk or any of those things.

So - Josh's fleece will be bigger, stronger, and healthier, all things being equal.

When selecting a wether to keep for fleece production I look at the fleece of his parents. Although fleece traits are only about 25% heritable, its a good starting place. And since he has nothing to do all year but eat, the cards are pretty much stacked in his favour to do a good job.

Of course the proof is in the pudding and if his fleece were a sow's ear....well, I don't do silk purses.

And speaking of couch potatoes

I was lethargic last night and didn't close toes on socks - just vegged and watch some WWII history documentary. I don't remember what it was about. I think I was up too early and sniffed too much dye ;o)

I did get some socks made, but left them on the machine when I went to do chores:

I finished a Raspberry sock to complete the previous day's work, and got three done in Prochem Bright Orange (not a very exciting name!).

I think I've mentioned before .... I try to leave the sock machine so that it is ready to go with a new sock - and in the picture you can see that everything is set to go.

Head 'em up; Move 'em out

A big move for the flock yesterday. They needed to go from a paddock on one side of the farm to a paddock on the other side. The tricky part is the gates - the gate they need to enter was further back in the lane than the gate they were extiting. Since sheep are followers, a sheep looking across the lane would see other sheep going in the opposite direction to enter the new paddock, and would therefore back track and be stuck in the old paddock.

A simple solution. Move them in two stages. First, into the lane, with the lane blocked off so they can only go one way. Then, open the new gate on the other side and take them back. (This is really hard to explain without a map!)

With lambs at foot, it is easier on all concerned to make all moves one step at a time, then let everyone regroup and find their mother, and then move the next step.

Here is the final step of yesterday's move. I am sweeping the rear to move the stragglers ahead (whence they came) over the hill and to the next gate on the other side. Down the centre of the lane, in the distance, you can see the large maple tree pointed out in my other farm photos.

The brown critter in the photo is Norman, a guard llama.

Columbia Sheep

My breed of sheep is Columbia. They were developed in the late 1800's by the USDA as a composite breed, built on the French merino (Rambouillet) and the British Lincoln. These are a large and very hardy sheep. They are on pasture 364 days a year and see the barn only on shearing day.

And here's Josh:

Josh is a wether (gelded male) and is 7 years old. His only job on the farm is to grow fleece. I have his fleece individually processed - either at a mini mill that can work one fleece at a time, or hand spun. This year his fleece will be hand spun by my friend P.

Back at the knitting machine

On the heels of a day of Lemon, I had a day of Raspberry Sorbet.

These are sized Medium, knit on the 54 cylinder, and, like yesterday's socks, are made from my own Sport Weight yarn. Heels and toes are reinforced with woolly nylon.

I'm doing 'a bunch' of socks with this yarn - I use different settings on the sock machine for sport weight -one full turn looser on the tension knob, and prefer to work in batches so I don't have to remember to change the settings every time. I will choose a different trim colour each day and keep at it until I've got a good stack to take to market.

And, for today's unsocks

On the left is a pair of arm warmers knit with left over Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colour Rainbow. From two skeins there is enough yarn left after a medium pair of socks to make these.

No thumb hole. Just a double hem top cuff and 60 rows of stockinette. I finish leaving an extra long tail, knit some scrap rows to get it off the machine, and then do a simple finish edge running the tail loosely through two stitches forward and one stitch back.

The longer pair are Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Camouflage. These have a shorter hem top, longer (100 rows) body and the same finished edge. These can be arm warmers or are also suitable as baby leggings for age 1 - 2. These were also done from left overs, but from two pair of socks/4 skeins.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

These are the materials I used in yesterday's heel/toe demo.

The cone yarn, natural, is my own Sport Weight yarn. It is Columbia (my breed of sheep)lamb. It is a two ply. Very soft but not truly strong enough for sock yarn so I always reinforce heels and toes with woolly nylon. I have this yarn put up in cones and also in skeins.

The yellow ball, used for the heels and toes, is Prochem washfast acid dye Sun Yellow used at full strength. This is the same sport yarn as above, dyed in the skein, then wound into a cake on my Royal ball winder.

And the small yellow cone is Woolly Nylon, fed through with the yarn during the heel and toe knitting. I bought this at Thread Art. They sell on eBay as well as online and I happened to catch a very good 'sale price' on eBay that was cheaper than their online store. Always pays to check!

Here is the finished pair of socks from the demo:

I haven't washed these yet. The natural will be less 'dull' after the wash and they will block out a little nicer - I've just put them on the blockers to snap the picture.

This pair is sized Medium and was knit on the 54 cylinder. I've done the same length of double hem top I usually do, but I put a pico edge on this pair.

Here are the tools I use for sock making. Most I use every time; a few are special purpose.

Starting at the top left and going clockwise:

• Flat metal Crescent is used to raise large groups of needles - very handy when doing heels and toes, vs raising the needles individually with a fingernail
• Set of 3 weights - these hang on the sock from below, to counter the pressure of the needles rising
• Single Weight - this weight is placed on the heel or toe knitting - when doing the short rows one side of the sock is becoming longer, while the main body of the sock remains the same length. Placing this weight on the heel or toe balances the weight to keep the entire knit under tension.
• Buckle - the sock is fed through this buckle underneath the sock machine - the 'tip' then is folded downward and the Set of 3 weights is hooked on. As the sock grows you can easily reposition the buckle upwards.
• Darning needle - to kitchener the toes closed
• fine crochet hook - I use this for applying beads to a sock
• old latch hook - used to pick-up slipped stitches. I put a piece of tape on the end so I don't accidentally use this (bent) one in the machine.
• scissors
• heel fork - the two hooks are placed into the knitting of the heel or toe, then the single weight is hung from the 'v' at the bottom
• picks - I use two - one with a longer arc pic end, and one with a shorter arc. Used to transfer/pick-up stitches, or to complete a stitch

Other than the scissors, darning needle, and crochet hook - these tools came with my sock machines. If you are looking to buy a sock machine it is a good idea to see if all or most of these things are included as they can be difficult and expensive to buy aftermarket.

Heels and Toes

Here’s how I do a heel or toe on the sock machine:

Instead of cranking around and around to make a tube, I raise the back half (less one on each side) of the needles out of work. So half the needles PLUS one on each side remain lowered/in work.

I have changed colours to make a yellow toe against a natural foot. This is my own sport weight yarn.

Now, instead of going around and around, I go back and forth. And each time that I go back or forth I first raise up one more needle out of work. I raise the first needle that I would otherwise knit first if I hadn’t raised it. (The exception is the first pass in each direction - I raise two needles instead of one. Thereafter, one needle at a time per pass.)
So I am doing one stitch less in each successive row. Or short rows.
I stop when I get to the yellow mark on my cylinder.

This picture is higher resolution and you can click it for closer view.

I’ve pointed out one of the red marks (there is one at 9 o’clock and one at 3 o’clock). The red marks are the point of reference to beginning the short rows, and the yellow marks are the point of reference to end the short rows.

So in this photo I’ve complete my decrease and am about to begin my increase by pushing down one needle back into work each time I knit back or forth. But this time, instead of changing the first needle I would otherwise knit, I push down the needle after the ones that are already down. (If I pushed down the first needle I would hit, I would have to wrap the yarn around that needle first, or I would drop the stitch - still works but takes longer.)

Now I’ve completed the last increase stitch. Remember in the first step I said I raise two needles on the first pass in each direction.

When finishing I don’t push those two down together, but push down ONLY the first (on each side) of the pair. So when I’m finished I have half of the needles up, and half of the needles down (instead of half plus one on each side when I started). The reason for this little manoeuvre is to avoid hole where the completed heel meets the foot of the sock.

Now, the heel or toe is complete so I push down the rest of the needles into work and begin going around and around instead of back and forth.

The first pass is a little tricky and it is important to make sure all the latches of the needles are DOWN, otherwise the needle will drop the stitch.

If you look at the third needle into the natural yarn from the yellow, on the right side. You will see that one latch is up. I didn’t see this !#%!$#&%$#@$ and right after taking this photo I therefore dropped a stitch!

Not to worry - I caught it about 5 rows down and was able to work it back up manually with an extra latch needle.

So that’s the heel and toe story.

It is also possible to do a Scotch Heel on the sock machine. I have instructions on how to do it, but haven’t tried it yet. Looks scary!

Another one that I did try is a double heel and toe. That was ‘interesting’ and perhaps a future blog topic.

And now for a very simple unsock ......

These baby toques were made on my 72 cylinder, with all stockinette (all needles in). I began with the tension quite loose and tightened it up a quarter turn each 25 rows or so. When finished I left along tail which I simply fed through the stitch loops and pulled tight. Finished off with pom poms. These were made with left overs from socks.

Little projects WITHOUT heels or toes are great for using up odds and ends, but ESPECIALLY great when first learning how to use a sock machine.

Lots of tubing experience is a very good thing before tackling those nasty short rows.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

I was checking out the grazing conditions on 'the knoll' yesterday. Here's the view:

The body of water in the distance is Georgian Bay.

I'm about 3/4 the way up my knoll, and the big maple tree at the upper right edge of the picture is the same big tree you can see in the distance on my Saturday picture, but from the other side. The paddock from that view - where the sheep are - is barely visible in this picture just to the left of the big maple.

Most of the trees you can see in the nearer ground are wild hawthorns, apples, and pears - basically weed trees that took over when the pastures were let go 50 years ago. The haw's are a pain, but the sheep LOVE wild apples and pears.

In the fall, when an apple drops on the ground the sheep can hear it a mile away and they roar off to find it.

Meanwhile back at the Sock Machine

Here's a pair of Opal Kollektionsenwicklung socks. (That took longer to type than it did to knit the socks!)

It is standard Opal 75/25 wool/nylon; 425m/100g; 28 stitches/36 rows/10cm

The colour way is an Opal test and I gather not in great supply. I knit this pair one sock from one skein, and the other from another. I was pleased that I got a reasonable match in the pattern - meaning no knots.

This pair is sized Medium and was done on the 54 cylinder.

And here is another unsock idea:

These are golf club socks. I made these a while back. And I've done a few more sets since but they are sitting on a table waiting to have the numbers duplicate stitched.

The yarn is my own Sport Weight, and the colours are Lilac, Leaf Green, and Colonial Blue.

I did a pico hem, and the full 'leg' in 2:1 mock rib, changing to full stockinette for the 'foot'.

There is a toe in these, but no heel. So fairly quick to make up. Except for the waiting to duplicate stitch thing ;o)

Show Me The Money

I can’t show you the money. But I can show you a small purse I made on the sock machine.

The purse is about 6" x 6". I knit it on the 54 cylinder, with all needles in (no mock ribbing). There is a small double hem top, and then straight tube knitting.

I used the kitchener to close the bottom (like a toe).

The yarn is my own 2 ply mule spun yarn - a light worsted weight - about 212 yards/ 112 g (4 oz). The colours are Prochem washfast acid dyes, Wine Rose, Slate Blue and Maple Sugar.
The I-cord (corking) for the strap was also done on the sock machine - removing all but 4 of the needles. Cool eh?

The I- cord strap is stitched to the body of the purse, with the long tails there were left on both ends of the cord. But the decorative flower cording is needle felted in place.

In order to knit this heavier weight of yarn on the sock machine I use Large Hook Needles (from angoravalley.com) and I have the tension knob fully opened to as loose as it possibly can go. The large hooks prevent the plies from splitting during the knit - I actually leave these needles on my 54 machine full time.

From Fleece to Yarn

The wool from the flock is spun into yarn as various mills. Here the farm truck loaded with 9 six foot by 2 foot diameter sacs of fleece, ready to roll to Western Canada.

8 of the sacs are in the back of the truck and one is crammed into the back seat.

But "how", says you, "do you drive your wool out west, and yet stay behind to feed the sheep when you live alone on the farm?"

"C’est facile", says I.

A Sock Gone Horribly Horribly Wrong

This is from the Regia, Ringel (I think) series - it is made from left overs and I don’t have the label - I've just always called it 'Candy Cane'.

Y’all with your DPNS, this is easy. Just get out the Advil, do your favorite cuff, then 625 rows, then the heel, then 60 rows (for medium) and then the toe.

I use the 72 cylinder and do the cuff and the 600 rows all in mock rib, then another 25 rows of full stockinette before going into the heel.

I made a at least 3 dozen pairs of socks with this particular yarn and therefore had SCADS of left overs. Total here is about 120 grams and the scarf is about 6 feet long. Naturally you could make it shorter, longer, etc.

And if this is just too over the top for you, you could also leave off the heel, foot, and toe, and just make the long tube and put tassels on the end.

I can squeak a sock scarf just under 5 feet with 100 grams - good use for a ball of sock yarn that is ‘seconds’ for whatever reason.

Besides a scarf, you could also use this as a hockey stick warmer if you live in the Great White North.

There are lots of things to make with a sock maker besides socks. Over the next few days I’ll blog on some of the things I’ve made.

Meanwhile, back at the farm,

On my way to check on the flock this morning I ran into Snappy.

He lives in the front pond and rarely comes out. But today he was napping on the lawn. A Napping Snappy! He’s about 16" long but I didn’t think it a good idea to lay a ruler beside him for the photo .There’s a reason I call him (her) Snappy.

And after that little photo shoot, off to the flock to bring their salt and mineral and check on things.

The sun was out, and hot , so the flock was napping (again with the napping) in the bush that forms the edge of this paddock - just out of view on the right. A few of them came out when they heard me coming.

This paddock is almost 2000 feet from the house and wool shack. In the bush beyond this paddock you can see a really tall maple tree, standing above everything else. That tree is the approximate center of the farm both length wise and width wise.

The bush is actually some of the best grazing on the farm. It is ‘former pasture’ that went wild in the decades before I came to the farm. But the pasture grasses are still present, along with excellent shade, browse, and, of course, coyotes.

More Bits and Pieces

My sock machines sit in a dormer in the upstairs of the wool shack. Here is my view looking out the window, albeit a dreary day:

No sheep in the picture - they are further out towards the back (which is to the left; the shack faces side view of the farm). The lawn, just outside the window is green; the pastures beyond are not! This has been a dry summer so far and the pastures are really set back. The rain this week is a blessing.

Out of the Oops

Last week I had an oops at the dye pot that I didn't like and planned to re-dye the batch black. But, ever lazy, I decided to knit a pair of socks from the Lorna's Laces colour Natural that I had included in the batch:

This isn't a good picture, and I tried fiddling with it to no avail. There is actually a much higher contrast between the blacks/browns and the oranges. My camera simply doesn't like things with lots of black. (Well, that and I don't know what I'm doing!)

Still - with the orange beads - maybe a good Halloween pair of socks. The socks are sized medium, and the dyed yarn was Lorna's Shepherd Sock, Natural.

I have a 100 g ball of Trekking natural, dyed in the same batch, and 6 skeins of Lopi style. I think I'll keep them as is, and not re-dye.

Apple Laine Winters Dawn completed
You may recall from last week that I ran out of yarn trying to squeak a Large pair of socks out of two 56 g (2 0z) skeins of Apple Laine's Apple Pie - colour Winters Dawn.

It was close, but no cigar. I ordered four more skeins and they arrived from Pick Up Sticks just a few days later, and from the same batch. Hurrah, hurrah. So - I was able to finish off the Large pair, and then knit a Medium Pair. (Note to self: always order Apple Laine in batches of 4 if having thoughts of large socks.)

The second Large sock is still on the machine. They are 72 stitch socks, while the Medium are 54. I personally like how the yarn patterned on the Large more than on the Medium.

Reply from self, to above 'note to self': OK

This is Apple Laine's Apple Pie, colour Earthly Delight.

I can't wait to knit this up, but there are other things ahead of it in line. But soon, I hope.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog's Tails

I had a friend visit yesterday for some tips on the sock machine. Perhaps another recruit to the dark side ;o)

Then, left to my own devices, I wound some Claudia and Louet Gems into balls to make a pair of socks.

My original intention was to use the Louet for heels and toes, but while knitting the first sock it became quickly apparent that Claudia wasn't going to be up for the pair. So I did a 'Harry Potter pair', reversing the colours on the second sock:

This may be another case where the double hem top uses too much yarn to squeak a pair out of an art skein. Perhaps if I'd done the complete hem top in the contrasting colour I may have succeeded.

The Claudia hand painted is colour 'John B', 180 yds/50g

And the Louet Gems is colour 'Citrus Orange' 185 yds/50g

Both are 100% merino. I backed my tension off 1/2 turn compared to commercial 4 ply sock yarn.

The yarn was nice to work with, and has the great feel you would expect from merino. But because it is pure wool I knit in Woolly Nylon (Colour #9196) to the heels and toes.

I had 8 g leftover of the Claudia and 18 g of the Louet. The socks weigh 41 g each (which is about 6 g more than this, my standard pattern, in commercial 4 ply)

Jesse
I would like to introduce you to Jesse, my Golden Doodle. He is three years old. I got him at weaning after being on a waiting list for some time. A Golden Doodle (a real one) is the F1 hybrid cross of a registered purebred Standard Poodle and a registered purebred Golden Retriever.

This cross was developed for blind people with allergies. I'm not blind (except when doing kitchener on 72 stitch sock) but lots of family and friends have allergies so I thought this would be a good breed to select -the dog wouldn't get kicked out of the house every time someone came over.

I chose the name Jesse because he was as gentle as Jesus (Jesse means 'of Jesus') and he was as spunky as Jesse James.

Jesse comes with me to the outdoor farmers' markets I attend. He sits on the tail gate of the pick up while I hawk my wares. He never jumps down, even when other dogs pass by and bark at thim.

Thirty or forty thousand people a day ask me if my wool comes from Jesse. Each thinks its hysterically funny. I guess it was the first few thousand times. I think I'll make a sign!

Anyways folks, this is Jesse. Jesse, this is folks.

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

OK. I’m impressed.

I realized on Sunday that I would need another skein of Apple Laine to complete my pair of large socks, so I ordered same online from Pick Up Sticks.

I stopped at my mailbox yesterday, Tuesday, on my way home from Keady Market, and there was the parcel waiting for me!

Kudos to the postman, er postperson. And, of course, kudos to Pick Up Sticks.

Regia Silk

Regia isn’t an art yarn, but of the commercial sock yarns its one of my favorites.

The Regia Silk is 55% merino, 25% nylon, and 20% silk.
The skeins are 200 m/ 50g; 30 stitches/42 rows /10 cm.

I LOVE THIS YARN

The silk content makes for a little stiffer knit on the machine so I back the tension off a quarter turn and that seems to be about right. Socks from this yarn feel truly luxurious. The gauge is a tad heavier than some of the commercial 4 ply yarns, but lighter than many of the art yarns I’ve used.

I’m not 100% knocked out with the colour selections. These are the two I like the best:

Colour # 0189.

And:

Colour # 0188

I understand that new colours are forthcoming and I will be standing in line.

Dave Was Asking:

What is the most pair of socks I can make in a day. I believe my record is 8 pairs. I can do this if I don’t have too many farm chores on that day, and if I am not concurrently at the dye pot. Making this many socks in a day is dangerous (mistakes become easier as I tire) and I only try this output if I’m feeling underprepared for a looming craft show.

More typically, I will have the dye pot on the go as well, knit a pair or two while I’m pre-soaking the yarn to be dyed, tend the dye pot while I begin a dye batch, and then knit another pair while the pot does the final simmer. And close the toes while I’m watching tv at night.

This presumes of course that the socks don’t fight back. And sometimes they do!

I don’t make socks every day. Other things on the go at the farm eat into my sock making time. Like this time of year - I just finished lambing last week, have a few bottle lambs, pastures to clip, water to haul, markets to attend and the like.

On those days I still try to get one pair of socks done so I don’t get rusty.

I seem to rust easily ;o(

Bits and Pieces

I had one skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock colour # 70 -Vera - left to knit, but I didn't want to make another pair of ankle socks, so I paired it with Opal 4 ply Uni Colour #15.

The Opal is 75/25 wool/nylon, 425m/100g while the Lorna's is 80/20 wool nylon.

My other bits added to pieces this morning is Lorna's Shepherd Sock colour #54ns - Firefly paired with Trekking ProNatural colour # 1602

The Pro Natura is 75/25 Wool/Bamboo and is 420m/100g

I just put a stripe of Firefly in the hem top as I want to stretch this skein to do heels and toes in a few other pairs of socks with other yarns.

My picture is of only one sock as the other remains hanging on the machine. I prefer to keep the sock machine always 'loaded' and ready to go with another sock. This reduces procrastination. Much easier to sit down and knit if you don't have to set up again.

To that end I also like to have the next ball of yarn ready before I finish for the day. And so, for today...

mmmmm Apple Pie

Apple Laine's Apple Pie - Colour Funny Girl
50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon
28-32 stitches/10 cm ~174 m/56 g

This pair is sized Medium and done on the 54 stitch cylinder, using my standard hem top pattern. In the photo I've turned down the cuff on one sock - you can see one of the benefits of the double hem top is the 'good on both sides'.

The Apple Laine yarn, like other artisan yarns I've tried, is a stiffer knit on the sock machine: The guage of yarn is a little heavier than the standard 4 ply commercial sock yarn (200 - 210 m/ 50 g); and silk content is a little stiffer to crank.

When I began the first sock in the pair I had my tension reduced 1/4 turn from typical 4 ply setting, but I very quickly backed it off a further 1/4 turn as I could tell I was going to be in for some hard cranking.

The 1/2 turn less worked out to be a comfortable tension.

The yarn being stiffer to knit does not mean it is not soft - this yarn is as soft as baby's bum. When a stitch is formed on the sock machine the yarn has to be pulled down into the machine to let the loop slip over the top. So a stiff knit is often a factor of stretchiness, not softness.

A stiffer crank generally means, for me, it takes a few minutes more to bang off a sock.

I easily had enough yarn in two skeins for a pair of medium. My next pair with Apple Laine was a men's large. I wasn't able to get the first sock finished without dipping into the 2nd skein. I quickly ordered more from Pick Up Sticks.

If I hadn't done the double hem top on the Large sock I probably would have squeaked through on the one skein per sock.

Dare to Compare

Here's a pair of socks done with Koigu, a comparable weight to the Apple Laine, but 100% wool.

Being 100% wool, I reinforced the heels and toes with woolly nylon.

Here is a close up of a heel.

It's difficult to spot the woolly nylon.

Oops and Oops again!

Yesterday I made an 'oops' when I described Apple Laine as 100% wool. It is actually, 50% superwash merino, 20 % silk, 20% kid mohair and 10% nylon. I mean, how much different could you possibly get from 100% wool!

This oops was a very good discovery for me. With 100% wool I use woolly nylon to reinforce the heels and toes. The stuff is finicky to work with on a good day, and an absolute pain in the touche the other 6 days of the week ;0)


Another oops - at the dye pot

Everything doesn't always go according to plan at the dye pot.

I use washfast acid dyes from Prochem in Boston. When doing a batch of skeins I:

• soak the yarn in hot water with a little synthrapol, until the hot water becomes tepid;
• measure and mix my dye powder with boiling water;
• make my dye bath in the pot with tepid water, the dye mix, and citric acid (to set the dye) and glauber salt (to level the dye).

A while back, I forgot the salt and I was in a hurry so the soak water hadn't cooled and the dye bath got too hot too fast. The result was a nice (to me) variegation in the yarn. I was so pleased I tried, successfully, to replicate my oops.


Here is an example of some lopi style yarn I did this week using the colour Chestnut.

I don't have a knit sample of the lopi style, but here is a simple toque knit in some worsted weight I dyed the same way another time.



What I like about this variegation is that it is more random than hand painted skeins - so something different.

Sometimes, repeating your mistakes can be a good thing! (Don't expect to hear Martha say this any time soon.)

But not every time - I tried the same oops-process with Chocolate Brown this week, instead of Chestnut and the result was more of a dog's breakfast - black, dirty brown and bright orange! Maybe something for Halloween. I had some sock yarn in that batch, so I'll whip up a sock and see if its worth keeping. If not I will relegate it to the pile of Mistakes to Be Dyed Black.

My Oops method works well, and replicates nicely with Chestnut, Brick, and Evergreen, so far:

soak yarn in hot water and a little synthrapol BUT remove while water is still hot

mix dye with boiling water and put in dye bath with a citric acid but NO salt

bring the dye bath to a rolling boil; do not stir the dye

plunge the skeins into the boiling dye bath; do not stir