Regia Bamboo II

This is Regia Bamboo Color #1062

Like yesterday, the picture of the socks isn't a clear as in the ball.

And this is Regia Bamboo Color # 1072.

A little Christmasy perhaps (?) but I like the way the colours are behaving in this pair.

Both these pair are Size Large, knit on the Verdun 47, on the 72 needle cylinder.

The tension was set 1/4 turn looser than my 'normal' 4 ply.

Only that bluish pair yesterday wanted and even looser tension. Geez it was a tough crank!

I tell you
Cranking bamboo is serious work. Why, after a few days of this, I have the right arm of an 18 year old.

And the right elbow of a 90 year old ;o(

So for a rest

This is my own 75/25 wool/nylon off yesterday's dry rack. The colour is Prochem Sky Blue. Dyed in the vat very pale value and then a bit of higher value dye drizzled on during the boil.

The colour is fairly true on my monitor. Its a real powder blue or baby blue as opposed to the pale turquoise that I've done a fair bit with.

This batch of yarn was destined to be the underdye for a hand paint job, but I'm pretty happy with this on its own.

I think I'll paint a few and see what's the diff.

Actually, maybe I better paint ONE and see first, since I've not tried this before.

But more bamboo to knit first....

Regia Bamboo

Here's something from my stash I haven't knit with for a while.

This is Regia Bamboo Color, colour#1064; 45% bamboo, 40% superwash wool, 15% nylon; ~200m/50g

And here's a poor quality photo of how it knits up!

The colours are very vibrant and distinct - they do not 'wash together' as my photo suggests. The colours are truer in the ball.

The bamboo has a definite shimmer to it. It is extremely soft and strong - much like silk. And also like silk, it is less elastic and so stiffer to crank on the sock machine.

I knit this Large pair on the Verdun 47, 72 needle cylinder. I barely squeaked by with the yardage. I had two feet left over from the first sock and I was two feet short on the second! I set my tension 1/4 turn looser than regular 4 ply.

And this is colour#1067.

Same comment about the poor photo - colours are much more distinct than shows and truer to the photo of the ball.

I knit this Large pair on the Verdun 47, 72 needle cylinder also, and also at 1/4 looser tension.

But AY ca rumba! This was a stiff knit! I thought I was going to break the handle off the machine. Or pop a hernia!

Next pair with this colourway I'll definitely go another 1/4 turn looser. I made note of this on my 'paper'. Right below where I made the same note two years ago.

I really should read my own notes!

Because the yardage was such a nail biter on the first pair, I tweaked my recipe a little - I knit two less rows in the cuff and two less rows on the leg. I left the foot alone. Barely a difference in the sock but a little fudge room in the yardage ;o)

In the Dye Room

This is an experiment in progress.

The yarn is my own 75/25 wool/nylon ~ 400 y/100g. I dyed it in a weak bath of Prochem colour Sky Blue. And while it was cooking, I drizzled some of the same colour, with a darker value, over the pot.

I 'planned' to use this as a base yarn on which to hand paint other colours - maybe some lilacs and greens, or ??

But I think when this dries I'm going to knit up a pair as is and see what gives.

Yeah, I know. I get lazy sometimes...

Arequipa encore

These are Arequipa, size Large, knit on the Verdun 47, 72 needle cylinder.

I'm down to the last colourway of Arequipa, and have two skeins of this one left. The colours are a little 'baskety' so I've been thinging about doing a basket weave stitch pair.

It's a bit of a dumb thought at this time of year when the farm work is demanding and I'm in production knitting mode. Not sure if I can dedicate a the time to a 'special knit'. We'll see.

Lorna's Beads.
I got into the beads on the weekend. Here are 4 pair. On two pair I did the beads WHILE knitting, and on two pair I did the beads AFTER knitting.

Can you tell the difference?

Pair #1 - Shepherd Sock colour Glenwood. Peach coloured miracle beads.

Pair #2 - Shepherd Sock colour Flamingo. Fuscia coloured wood beads.

Pair #3 Shepherd Sock colour Blue Jeans. Royal Blue wood beads.

Pair #4 - Shepherd Sock colour Aslan. Pearl coloured miracle beads.

I'm sure some of these colourways look familiar as I've knit with them all before.

One colour, in particular, I've knit close to 50 pairs of. Care to guess which one? Take my poll at the side!

On the Farm
I had some farm pictures from the weekend and managed to b*gger them up on the computer and lose them!

The soapy water, sugar and clean rags I showed on Friday were to help a stressed ewelamb that had prolapsed her uterus (about the size of a football). The soapy water and rags were to clean the exposed uterus and the sugar is for sprinking on it - helps to reduce swelling - before replacing it.

(Replacing as in putting it back in place, not as in getting a new one!)

Once replaced (not fun at all for sheep or shepherd) I put a harness on her - sort of like a chastity belt for sheep - that holds the works 'in'.

Some parts of farming are definitetely in the 'yucky' department!

Arequipa Trio

Here's a little experiment using three skeins of Arequipa from the same batch.

It's a handpaint, 400m/100g; 65% superwash, 20% alpaca, 15% nylon. I got my Arequipa stash online at Pickup Sticks.

The first pair is sized Medium, done on the Legare 400, 54 needle cylinder. My tension was set to the 'normal' setting I use for most 4 ply socks yarns. This yarn seems a little finer, but dark red dye tends to be a little stiffer to knit so I didn't ease the tension.

The knit was 8 stitches and 10 - 11 rows per inch and the finished sock (tube) was 3.25" wide. (Measurements taken after allowing the sock to relax over night but before washing/blocking.)

This is the same yarn, knit Size Large on the Verdun 47, 72 needle cylinder, and again, tension set where I would normally put it for a 4 ply type sock yarn.

The knit is 10 stitches and 12-13 rows per inch. The finished, relaxed unwashed sock is 3.75" wide.

And this is an XL pair, also done on the Verdun 47, 72 needle cylinder BUT with the tension 1/4 turn LOOSER than on the Large pair.

The knit is 9 stitches and 11-12 rows per inch and the relaxed unwashed sock is just a smidge under 4" wide.

The XL sock, even though a scant 1/4 inch wider has more elasticity since its a looser knit - I usually do this for XL sizes on the presumption that the leg of the wearer will also be on the XL side.

The little ball of yarn is what was left over after knitting a pair of XL socks from one skein. This is a bonus, as I'm usually into a second skein for this size.

What a difference a measly 1/4 turn in the tension will make on the colour patterning!

One of the reasons, when I buy yarn, that I like to get it by the skid is that it takes a few pair to see how the patterning will behave. I can make note of that and then knit predictably!

A lot of handpaints, of course, aren't available by the skid, so its always a surprise.

The Yarn Harlot blogged recently about a software someone had developed that would predict, and display, how painted yarns would knit up. You enter the spacing dimensions of the painting, your needle size, number of stitches etc and the software will show you what the knitting will look like.

Swatching may go the way of the Dodo bird!

I don't know that this would be helpful for my own handpainting. I don't think my colour strips replicate exactly enough. I mean, its a creative enterprise!

Still, a cool concept.

Next up

Another trio of Arequipa.

And on the farm

This is warm soapy water, some sugar, and clean rags.

That's never a good sign.

Regia Silk

Regia Silk, colour Navy with a little silver sparkle, accented with my own Wool/Tencel colour Stormy Waters for the hem tops, heels and toes.

These are sized Medium and knit on the Legare 400, 54 cylinder.

I don't usually mix fibre contents within a sock for fear that they behave differently in the wash over time. But the tencel seems so much like silk that I took the gamble.

(I've heard tencel referred to as 'the poor man's silk' numerous times, though I've not yet seen it priced that way!)

The navy appears almost black in my photo. It is a very deep navy, but definitely not black. The sparkle shimmer also vanishes for some reason. I'm surprised the flash didn't light them up.

I've been dyeing more of my wool/tencel sock yarn lately. No new colours - just replenishing.

Here's a pair of Stormy Waters, followed by a pair of Mica, both in Medium.

On the Farm

The flock has begun grazing fresh spring pastures. This is about two weeks earlier than most years, brought about by the warm temperatures of the past week.

The flock will rotate 'quickly' through the paddocks so as not to set back the growth of the sward. So - one day per paddock.

In the photo, they are coming over the hill heading home for their grain ration (twice a day). This is to supplement the grass - it has a very high nutritional value, but because it is still short it takes a lot of work for them to get a full meal. The grain supplements will carry on until the grass is in full steam and can meet their requirements.

Lambing is still a few weeks away, but some of the girls are starting to 'udder up'. This udder will become much larger yet, and when lambing time is near the udder will get a bit of a glisten/sheen that an experienced eye will recognise.

Using Up Left Overs

Can you tell what my LEAST FAVOURITE part of sock making is?

At some point I'll have to cut these 12 pairs off and play catch-up on the toes.

Here are the socks I knit with Charcoal Grey and scraps of Arctic Sky, all in my own hand dyed 75/25 wool/nylon, ~ 400 y/100g.

With two 100 g balls of the Charcoal Grey plus assorted scraps of the Arctic Sky I was able to get 3 pair of Medium Sized socks, and I have enough grey left over to do heels and toes with at least one other pair of socks.

These were knit on the Legare 400, 54 needle cylinder.

Tip:
My standard mock rib hem top is: knit 40 rows, replace missing needles, knit 2 rows, hang hem.

To put a single stripe in the hem top that comes out 'centred' - I knit 27 rows in main colour, 7 rows in accent colour, 6 rows in main colour (=40 rows), replace missing needles etc.

Next Up

Here are two 50g balls of Regia Silk - colour is Navy Blue (hard to see that!) with a sparkle. The sparkle is fairly subtle - little flecks that are much smaller than, for instance, the sparkle on the Fortissima Disco series.

Paired with the silk, I've got a part ball of my own 50/50 wool/tencel in colour Stormy Waters that I'll use up on the hem top, heels and toes.

On the Farm

Here's a coyote den Jesse and I found while we were out back repairing fence yesterday. A lot of the maple trees that line the fence row are really old. Many are sick and dyeing - creating homes for coyotes, raccoons, rabbits.

All of whom, no doubt, are complaining about the racket from the woodpeckers upstairs...

Devon Beads

Even though we jumped from winter right into summer, there are a few signs of spring on the farm.

Here is the finished pair of socks I was beading after knitting. Size Medium, knit with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock colour Devon and with 6mm Miracle Beads added to the pico gaps.

I love this colour from Lorna's. The turquoisey blues remind me of swimming in the Caribbean, or even of our own Lake Louise, Alberta.



Next up:

I've got some 'end of balls' of the Arctic Sky hand paints (my own 75% wool 25% nylon, ~ 400 y/100g) and some of the same yarn vat dyed in Prochem's Charcoal Grey - which was one of the colours I used to paint the Arctic Sky yarn.

I think I'll combine these for some conservatish grey socks with a little splash of colour in the heels and toes.

Beading Off Machine Finale

One last (for now) comment about beading Off Machine. At the end of the day, I don't think there is a big time difference between putting beads on DURING sock making, or AFTER.

It seems like it takes longer after, because I'm doing it at the same time I kitchener. So longer in the hands. But, indeed, shorter on the machine.

Here's a post I did in September about putting the beads on while the sock is on the machine. You can see in the pictures how the beads rub up against the cylinder while 'under construction'.

Beading ON Machine

I think I will stay with the ON machine as my first choice, but won't hesitate to go OFF machine with delicate or irregular beads, or large sized socks.

Something nice about finicky knitting projects: regular knitting seems to really fly afterwards.

Both these pair are Schaefer Anne, sized Medium +, knit on the 72 needle cylinder.

For some of the frustrations I've had recently on how the colours pool, I'm really quite happy with both these pair, and my tempestuous relationship with Anne is on the ups again.

Touch wood!

On the Farm
Jesse and I have been spending more time on fence repairs than on sock knitting for the past week. (And the next week.)

We've finished the repairs in 7 out of 18 paddocks.

I remain amazed that a tree can fall on my fence and do nadda to the wires or insulators. And yet snow will rip them (and their 3.5" ardox nails) right off the post. Sometimes the nails even snap instead of pop.

The back pond we renovated last fall is full to overflowing. I'm hopeful I won't be stressed about water shortages this summer.

Touch wood!

The pastures are greening. In large measure because we really haven't had Spring yet.

We've gone from a late winter right into an early summer.

But its good the grass is coming on early, as I'm almost out of hay. So if I can make fewer socks and repair more fences I hope to turn the flock out next week.

Touch wood!

(Farmers touch a lot of wood...)

Beading Off Machine II

The long initial tail I described yesterday is for attaching the beads onto a pico hem top sock.

It occurs to me that you could actually skip that entire step and just start with a separate length of yarn - the same yarn as the sock since it will show. You would need to start by weaving one end of that piece securely to the top of the sock.

In any event.... here's how I attached the beads.

The descriptions of the photos are on the flickr copy as yesterday, so simply click each pic for more info.

Beading Off Machine

Definition of a boy:

a noise with dirt on it.

I laughed when I heard that line many years ago. I guess its true.

Jesse helped me with fence repairs in the field today. He was just groomed on Friday.

And that's a good thing.

We weren't alone out there - I have my first several mosquito bites of the season, and thousands of black fly bites to boot.

The Gentrification of the Country

I went to the farm supply store to buy fence insulators yesterday. All they carry now - bags of 25.

25!!!

What farm that you know of has only 5 posts!

These used to come in boxes of 1000. And those boxes were beside the nails and wires and stuff. Now these little sissy bags are just beyond the rabbit pellets and bird seed. Ay ca rumba!

Off Machine Beading
Here is a sock in the making that I will bead off-machine with the fancy but temperamental Miracle Beads. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock colour Devon.

The description for each photo is on the flickr copy, so just click the photo if you want the info.

Getting Ready: