Delirious Diva, Done.

After my exams last year I wrote this blog post, describing my new knitting project and the yarn I spun for it. I worked on it here and there, was distracted by renovating the house, a yarn bombing project, and work, so it took me a very, very long time to finish it. But now it's done, and I already wore it to a wedding. I also wear it regularly at home, as it's so warm and cozy.

The photos were taken after the wedding of our friends in Dublin, Ireland. By the way, should you ever need an apartment in Dublin, I highly recommend this one - it's not only pretty, cozy and located in walking distance to the city centre, but Wayne, the owner, is a fantastic host. He made sure we had a fridge full of tasty things (which I wouldn't expect when renting a holiday flat), tea, coffee, and cupboards full of supplies, he even bought us a small loaf of bread and provided fresh flowers.

But let me get back to the knitting stuff ;-) The pattern I used is Line Break by Veera Välimäki, which was well written and easy to follow once I got the hang of it. The wraps and turns were a bit difficult at first, and I think I ended up doing them differently after searching on youtube. I also made a few mistakes with the yarn overs, making them on the wrong side of the stitch marker on occasion. So it's a bit crooked, but I love it :-) There are more photos on Ravelry, if you'd like to have a look.

I'm currently knitting quite a lot after many months of not knitting at all. When I was still knitting the Diva shawl, I started on a small project of mindless knitting to carry around, a scarf for my grandmother which I called Omis Aubergine (Grandma's eggplant). It's nearly done, and I can't wait to give it to her - but as she lives 600 km away, it might be a while.

 
After finishing the Diva shawl, and while still knitting the scarf for my grandmother, I was already looking for something else to knit, and was very happy when I found the Sea Dragon shawl pattern. This was shortly before we went to Dublin for the wedding, and I decided to look for suitable yarn on our trip. I usually don't buy yarn (except for some colourful cotton yarn for yarn bombing projects), but I didn't feel like spinning so much of the same yarn for this, and I wanted to start knitting. This gave me the perfect opportunity to check out This is Knit in Dublin and to buy some souvenir yarn for myself ;-) (By the way: lovely shop, friendly and helpful staff!). I bought two skeins of hand dyed Vivacious 4ply by Fyberspates in wonderful greens, and a skein of Rialto 4ply by Debbie Bliss, and started knitting the very same evening. I love the Viviacious, it's beautiful and fun to knit, but I don't really like the Debbie Bliss one (too little twist, no "life"). I've made a lot of progress since then, but didn't get around to taking a new photo, so here's one from about two weeks ago:

I am halfway through the pattern now and will start the decreases as soon as I have some quiet knitting time. I've already planned the next two projects - so I can't wait to finish this one and start working on the next! It will be either Verdant, which I have already spun two skeins of yarn for, or Sorceress, which I plan to knit from a beautiful and slightly sparkly black yarn I originally spun for Wa na na na na na na na Bat Shawl! years ago. I started knitting (also years ago), made a mistake, didn't like it anymore and put it in a box - so now I figured I could use the yarn for something else. I think it's a bit too thin for the 5,5 mm needles called for in the Sorceress pattern, but as the shawl is very large and wide, maybe slightly smaller needles will also be okay to use, and I think the yarn might work after all.

I have no idea how long my knitting frenzy will last, it usually comes in phases. As winter is coming, however, and there are more knitting people in the house, I might actually finish some projects this time, without long pauses in between ;-)

What are you knitting at the moment? I'd love to chat about projects, if you'd like to leave a comment :-)

Captain Zamira Drakasha - Badass Pirate and New Art Yarn Project

I am currently listening to the audio book version of The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch (@scottlynch78 on Twitter). I stumbled upon the first of the books on Amazon years ago, put it on my wish list - mostly because I read about there being a badass woman pirate in the second book - and then kind of forgot about it. I had so much on my mind then, writing my thesis and reading only stuff I needed for that purpose.

A few months ago, a customer who has also become a friend told me she loved the books, and said I should definitely read them. By then I was already hooked on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin and didn't see myself starting another series soon. But then it came to me: I looked for the audio book, as I always need something to occupy my mind while spinning. Though I do enjoy (re)watching Star Trek, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Buffy, and other shows, it's nice to have someone read to you now and then - and Michael Page, who reads the Gentleman Bastard series, does a fantastic job.

I have finished book 2 now, the book where the aforementioned female pirate captain comes into the story. And I am in love! She is a middle aged black woman, pirate captain, talented at sabre fighting, mother of two, and utterly fantastic. And what do I do when I am so in love with a character? Yes, exactly - I pay homage to them by spinning a yarn ;-)

Here she is, the magnificent Zamira Drakasha, Captain of the Poison Orchid!

 I decided on dark brown, reddish brown and golden brown to represent Zamira's ship and clothes, and teal and turquoise to represent the ocean. Fibres used are merino wool and bamboo.

For add-ins, I chose sabre charms for Zamira's fighting talents, yak bone skulls for the piracy, and coin charms for gained treasure. Also, I added strips of red silk, as in Zamira's universe being a pirate is referred to as sailing under the red flag, the equivalent of the Jolly Roger. The strips are spun in so the ends of them will flutter magnificently from the finished yarn.

The colours are a bit off in these pictures, as my camera has a slight problem with teals and turquoises - they always seem bluer than they actually are.

(By the way, when I googled Zamira I came upon this article, a response by author Scott Lynch to a critic of the character Zamira Drakasha. As always when something is about (strong, independent, powerful) women, the "critics" (read: obnoxious dickheads) come crawling from their sorry dark holes. The response by Scott Lynch is great, though, and you don't necessarily have to know the story or the character to read it.)

If you're interested in the book series, here are the titles:

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora

2. Red Seas under Red Skies

3. The Republic of Thieves

(Four more books to come, according to Wikipedia)

Essentially, the series is about two likeable (male) con artists and their varying followers who plan schemes to get rich. They are also priests of the so called crooked warden, the nameless thirteenth, god of thieves, and as such have certain obligations which sometimes interferes with their actually getting rich. The schemes are clever and sometimes quite funny, the dialogues are fun, the writing is great... Trigger warnings should be given for a certain brutality, though in my opinion it's much less than in A Song of Ice and Fire, for instance.

Though both of the protagonsists are male and there could be more female main characters for my taste, at least in this world women are visible, and work in varying professions. There are female guard and city watch members, assassins, personal guards, alchemysts, pirates, thieves, magi... And after Zamira and her second in command in book 2, book 3 now features another two women who I hope will get more screen time (is there a word for that when I'm talking about books?), and book 1 also had a few interesting female characters, though they didn't get that much time. 

So, all in all - very enjoyable books, fun to read, and even more fun if they're read to you by Michael Page ;-)

Parade of Ice and Fire

A few months ago I finally decided to start reading George R. R. Martin's epic book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't often take much time for reading, so it's slow progress, mostly, but I enjoy it immensely (though I thought book 2 was a bit lengthy at times), and it's given me so many ideas for art yarns! High time I showed you some of them :-)
Clicking on the titles will take you to the listing in the shop where you can find more info.

Ice & Fire

A take on the general concept of two opposed elements. Alpaca fibre, bluefaced leicester wool, merino wool, shimmering mother of pearl thread, and lots of sequins.
201 m (220 yards) / 52 g (1,83 oz)

Dragon's Egg I

Inspired by one of the dragon's eggs Daenerys Targaryen receives at her wedding to Khal Drogo. It will later hatch into the Dragon Daenerys calls Rhaegal. This yarn was part of a series of three, but there is only one other left besides this one. There is also a special offer. 168 m (184 yards) / 82 g (2,89 oz)

The Vale of Arryn

 Home to Lisa Tully, sister to Catelyn Stark, the Vale of Arryn is described as a vista of green fields, with hundreds of lakes, stretching to the misty east. I chose blue for lots of sky, green and yellow for the fields, and silver thread and sparkly beads for the lakes and the starry night sky. 222 m (243 yards) /103 g (3,63 oz)

King's Landing at Sunset

I think of King's Landing in tones of coloured sandstone, dusky yellows and pinkish browns. I didn't have fibres in the tones I wanted, so it's more pink than I originally planned, but I added matte mookaite beads in the exact colours I imagined.
138 m (151 yards) / 91 g (3,21 oz)

House Tully

The house and family Catelyn Stark comes from. Their colours are blue and red, their sigil a silver trout, and their motto is "Family, Duty, Honor". You can see how I chose colours and add-ins ;-)
 199 m (218 yards) / 102 g (3,60 oz)

  

Dragon's Egg II

Another one of Daenerys Targaryen's dragon's eggs. It will later hatch into the Dragon Daenerys calls Viserys. This yarn is also part of the above-mentioned series, and thus part of the special offer.
222 m (243 yards) / 106 g (3,74 oz)
 




 Daenerys Stormborn

Hand dyed kid mohair fibre in storm colours and genuine, faceted amethyst beads the colour of Daenerys' eyes make this yarn truly unique. It's fuzzy, and one of my personal favourites.
153 m (167 yards) / 56 g (1,98 oz)

House Lannister

I was very tempted to name this one The Lannister Lions - but wouldn't you think them a football team? :-D
Red and gold are the colours of Lannister House, and the lion is their sigil. I added lots of silver and gold sequins to demonstrate their wealth, as well.
98 m (107 yards) / 121 g (4,27 oz)

Beyond the Wall

Far stretching landscapes of white snow and snow-covered forests, haunted by the white walkers, crossed by Mance Rayder and his people. You know why there are so many skulls in this one ;-) Some black, some white, both types made from howlite.
135 m (148 yards) / 97 g (3,42 oz)


The Blackfish

Uncle to Catelyn Stark and very stubborn, Brynden Tully is called the Blackfish, which inspired me to use House Tully colours mixed with black, and simpler fish charms than in the Tully yarn.

 172 m (188 yards) / 106 g (3,74 oz)

 Storm Clad

I spun this one also with Daenerys Stormborn in mind, using grey and teal fibres for the stormy sea around Dragonstone, where Daenerys was born during a raging storm. I added shimmering peacock-grey (genuine) freshwater pearls.
296 m (324 yards) / 106 g (3,74 oz)




These are only the ones still available, and I decided against showing you the ones which have already sold, as it would be a bit mean to show the ones which are no longer available. You can look for them yourself in our sold orders, though, if you'd really like to see them (and some might well be respinnable if you fall in love ;-)).

Time is running

...and Halloween is only one month away. I love spinning Halloween art yarns, but somehow I always start too late. Also, August and September have been incredibly busy the last few years. This is why I have only a few themed yarns, not all of which are listed yet. I'll try my best to put them in the shop over the next few days so they will arrive in time for a Halloween knitting party - or a Halloween party you just take your knitting to ;-)

Bats and Pumpkins

This one features the traditional colours and also bat charms and pumpkin charms. It's 168 m / 112 g

Gotham Night

 This one is already listed, you can read about the details here.

Also, there are these two - not Halloween yarns as such, but the colours fit the theme somewhat and I'd like to show them because I like them a lot :-)

Gallifrey

This one features hand dyed bluefaced leicester wool and silk as well as merino wool - and semi-precious stones (fiery red agate, carnelian, and citrine) strung onto a shiny orange thread. 251 m / 113 g

Friends of Slytherin

 

 This is one of my recent favourites - I absolutely love the snake charms. I've been meaning to spin another Slytherin yarn for a long time now, but it took me a while to find suitable add-ins. This art yarn is sparkly (silver angelina) and features wild silk, alpaca, linen and merino wool. Also, I spun in silk fabric strips and beads. 112 m / 95 g

Tentacular Knitting Project(s)

I found an intriguing pattern called Tentaculum. I was in posession of a wonderful skein of art yarn at the time which I really wanted to knit up myself, and the two kind of happened to coincide. Here's the result :-)

I originally intended to make and keep this for myself, but then I decided to give it to my mum for her birthday. It felt right and she likes it :-)

I made another one I didn't really intend to keep, but now I am wondering... I wanted to knit another one because I had so much fun with the pattern, and I decided to spin a white snowflake art yarn since I've always wanted to knit one of those myself. The thing is - I don't like wearing white. I don't think it looks good on me, and I usually prefer black with a splash of either red, green oder dark teal. All I wanted was the bliss of knitting a wonderful mixed-fibre art yarn with snowflake sequins into a fun garment which I could then trade or give as a gift. Then I put it around my neck and was amazed how white actually can look quite good on me - unfamiliar, but not at all bad. So now I am not sure whether I'll keep it or not. I haven't even gotten around to weaving in the ends and blocking the thing, which is why I can only show you a picture from the very beginning:

I am so in love with these snowflake sequins! I always have been, from the first time I saw them :-) I even wondered whether they might look good in a black or teal yarn *g* Maybe I'll try that some day.

Learning Something New - Sock Knitting!

I've been spinning and knitting for well over six years now, yet somehow I never dared to try socks. I love handknit socks, but they seemed kind of intimidating as a knitting project. Also, I don't really want to spin sock yarn for several reasons: it has to be extremely thin, it has to be quite even, it has to be plied... It seems to be a matter of diligence more than of creativity, and I am not the most patient person, I like my creative outbursts ;-) Spinning and plying the usual sock yarn of 420m/100g would take ages. First, I'd have to spin nearly a thousand metres of yarn, then I'd have to ply all this yarn, and then it would probably not last for long, as socks are for walking in...

You could argue that I don't necessarily have to spin my own sock yarn. I am proud, though, I have never bought yarn other than cotton yarn for dish cloths - more about that another time, maybe - in all my spinning time, but always used my own handspun for my knitting projects. However, as with the cotton yarn, I finally decided to break the tradition after all. If I know I won't spin it but I do want to do the project, why not? After looking at sock yarn online I decided to compromise: I'd at least dye it myself. This way, I can still be creative, and I don't have to use yarn I am not fully satisfied with. I didn't like many of the commercial yarns, and when I thought about buying hand dyed sock yarn I though "hey, wait - why should I when I can have fun with it myself?". Sooo - I went to Ebay and bought 1 kg of undyed sock yarn ;-)

Due to lack of time (yes, still in my graduation process, studying like mad) I decided to do a quick dyeing session with easter egg colours. They can be used with normal cooking dishes and heat-set in the microwave, so no need for any preparations or special pots. I am quite in love with teals and blue-greens at the moment, so this is what I went for.

Unfortunately, my camera had some issues with getting the colours right - the yarn is a lot more beautiful in person! It's lighter than I wanted it to be (lots of light, somewhat greenish blue), but I got used to it and now like it very much :-)

I had picked a pattern before I bought and dyed the yarn: Falling Tears (which is also available on Lucygerbils blog). In fact, the pattern (wich I found while browsing on Ravelry during a pause between studying sessions) was the trigger for the whole thing. I am picky, I admit it. I have found few sock patterns I really liked (before this one, that is), and seeing that such a project takes a while I didn't want to get stuck with just any pattern. Only drawback: the pattern is not really suitable for beginners as the things which actually make a sock a sock are not explained. So I ended up buying a sock knitting book (it's in German - Sockenworkshop to go) and starting the project anyway. I am sure I could have found everything I needed on the internet, but sometimes I like having a book instead of printed sheets that will get lost at some point or another.

The photo is a little behind the actual status, I just started the heel a few days ago. Then I fell ill (bad dental infection or whatever is the correct term) and was in too much pain to do anything than watching trashy TV shows. I am better now, as the antibiotic is finally working, but I decided on some studying today instead of trying to work out the mysteries of sock knitting. I am looking forward to continuing the sock, but I still feel a bit intimidated ;-)

Just a quick note...

and picture of my freshly knitted Cupido cowl :-) I found the pattern on Ravelry, but there's also a blog post about it on Please Don't Eat the Daisies if you'd just like to see a few photos. I finished knitting the baby blanket some time ago (but haven't blocked it yet, and time is getting short...) and there were two skeins of yarn left. I had had no idea how much I'd need and decided to be on the safe side. I thought about putting the two remaining skeins in the shop, but when I saw the pattern for the Cupido cowl, I just had to knit it and the yarn seemed perfect. I absolutely loved knitting with the yarn (it's so fluffy and soft!), but since the colours really don't look so good on me I hope to trade the cowl for something I can't make myself. I might put the last remaining skein in the shop, though, which is white, blue and yellow. I'll need to take photos some of these days.

In other respects I'm spending pretty much of my time studying, my first oral exam will be at the end of the month. It's freaking me out and alternately filling me with joy since it will bring me closer to the end of my student days...

What Became of...?

A few days ago, we received an email which made us very happy: Max, who bought Twisted's Hawaiian Summer Party art yarn, sent us some pictures of what she made from the yarn, and kindly allowed us to share them with you all :-)

Here's a picture of the yarn, a beautiful corespun with 102 m (112 yards) / 106 g (3,74 oz) / 6-8 WPI

Max knitted it into a stunning hat for her daughter, who was actually the one to pick the yarn when she and Max browsed our shop:

Such beauties, both the hat and the girl! :-) 

If you're interested, the pattern is the Rikke Hat by HappyKnits, and if you're on Ravelry, you can see more photos and details on the project here.

Max, thank you so much for sharing this, and for allowing us to share the photos with our readers! You made us very happy once again :-) And please do tell your daughter she looks fantastic and has great taste!

Necromantic Knitting

A while back, I spun two versions of my Necromancer art yarn (one of which is still available in the shop), a thread-plied art yarn made from different kinds of black fibre, hand dyed wild silk, and bone skull beads, as well as other add-ins, varying with the two versions of the yarn. When I spun the basic yarn I thought this would look gorgeous as an unplied, single yarn as well, without add-ins, for a simple warm shawl. Since it's been a while since I spun anything for myself, I decided to do just that :-)
 

My husband and I spent our weekend with his family, celebrating his mother's birthday, and family reunions like that are usually a welcome opportunity for me to take out my knitting or my spindle. My sister-in-law has recently learned how to knit, too, so I even had company :-) I wanted a simple project I could take with me, so I decided to knit another shawl from the pattern I used for my Dark Atlantis shawl.

The beauty of this is: if you use stitch markers, you don't even have to count or pay much attention :-)

I made the stitch markers myself, of course. I made quite a lot for our upcoming crafts fair, and I keep thinking I should take photos and list them in the shop, along with our yarns. What do you think, dear customers? Would you be interested? :-)

By the way - there's also an art yarn in the shop which combines a wonderful single yarn like the one I just showed you (made from a very similar fibre blend, and containing the very last of the hand dyed wild silk) and the bone skull beads from the original necromancer art yarn:

Scathach

To be found here :-)

The Colour Of Tea - Part II

Anyone remember my tea dyeing experiment? I've been wanting to post photos ever since the yarns were dry, but the weather has been really bad for photos most of the time. I have decided to take some pictures now, just in case I won't get any good ones before spring - and should I be able to take better ones later on I'll post another set :-) 

Lessons I learned from all this:

* tea smells a little weird when you put wool or goat hair in it
* I should have used more tea for more intense colours. When I complained about the wool being too light in colour, my husband asked "didn't you want camel colour?" :-D No, I really did want dark copper (AND he knew ;-)). Well, maybe next time. I like camels, though, maybe I'll name the dye lot after them. And the yarns are beautiful, as I realised once I got over my expectations.
* documenting things like this and blogging about them always takes longer than you might think - though it helps to do it right away and not postpone it to some other time. Thank you, blogger, for enabling me to start and save postings! :-)

The Colour Of Tea - Part I

Quite some time ago, one of our friends from Authentic Fiction blogged about dyeing with black tea. I loved the colours and thought about trying this myself, but somehow I never got around to it. Today I received my copy of "Harvesting Color" by Rebecca Burgess, and I SO felt like trying out some plant dyes! I don't know whether I will keep the book, as some or maybe even many of the plants can't be found where I live (the book is really beautiful, though!), and when I looked at my supplies I returned to a German dyeing book for the recipies. As it turned out, all the leaves I could use would have to be soaked over night, so I desperately thought about what else I could use and the tea came back to mind. I've had a huge package of black tea for ages, and it wasn't that tasty in the first place (I used small amounts for my henna hair dyeing sessions, but 500 g do go a long way), so I decided to have a go.

I had previously (one or two years ago) spun some white fibre into yarns I wanted to dye - so you can see how long it can take me sometimes to actually realize my plans ;-) It took me a while to sort through the yarns and to label them. I put the details on pieces of paper, laminated them, and fixed the info to the yarns with thread, so I won't have difficulties knowing which is which after the dyeing process. I have lambs wool, a gorgeous blend of kid mohair and bluefaced leicester wool, merino/bamboo blend, and bluefaced leicester wool on its own. 7 skeins altogether.

I decided on using the dye bath twice, first with 300 g of yarn, and then again with about 200 g. I googled about dyeing with tea, found this blog entry (and the one by Authentic Fiction already linked to above) and some reference in German. I decided to just experiment with the amount of tea I needed. I took out my sewing machine and made a very simple bag which I filled with about 150 g of black tea.

I stitched it up, and now I had my very own, handmade tea bag ;-)

I put the tea into hot water, and I think I let it boil for about 20-30 minutes. Then I turned off the stove and let the dye bath sit for a while because I had other things to do

After about an hour, I put my first four skeins into the dye bath, without washing or even dampening them first. They didn't need to be washed because the fibres I used were commercially processed and thus without any grease or plant matter or anything.

I plan to simmer the whole lot for about an hour (which is nearly over, since I've taken my time writing all this) and then removing the yarns and putting the second lot in for another hour. I am so curious how the yarns will turn out, I do hope to get some gorgeous copper, though I am afraid they will be just brownish... We'll see :-) I'll take photos of the finished yarns when they are dry and when there is more suitable light.

The Skull Scarf

I had looked forward to the Tour de Fleece so much - but since I have had some problems with stress and inner pressure lately, I have decided to drop out. I was on sick leave last week and didn't even feel up to spinning, so I took the yarn I spun on day 2 and knitted it up. Sitting on the sofa, watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer (which I somehow missed when I was young, so I felt I had to close that gap in education ;-)) and knitting did me good and I feel much better now :-)

(please click for a larger version!)

I love how the scarf turned out, and I'm looking forward to giving it to a friend as a birthday present. In fact, this wasn't the only thing I knitted last week. I made a hat and a pair of wrist warmers from a skein of beautiful corespun art yarn I had spun for myself quite a long time ago, and I started the Tempest Cowl (using my own handspun lace yarn in teals and a little blue, black and bright turquoise), aaaand I made two dice bags, also intended as presents. Oh - and the reason I was finally able to knit again and to have fun doing it, is that I *finally* finished the Scarf of Horror about two or three weeks ago. Now I am free to knit things for myself, and I am so happy about it! Now the only thing I have to do is take some decent photos to show you what I've done :-)

It really felt good to sit around, watch cheap TV shows, and do nothing "useful" for once. Being self-employed it turns out I have some problems integrating breaks into my daily routine, so this last week was a kind of enforced and very necessary holiday. And you know what? I am now looking forward to working again - but I'll try to reduce the inner pressure. 

I hope you are all well :-)

Open the Parcel

This came much, much earlier than expected... I ordered on Sunday and was certain I'd have to wait at least a week, maybe even two. My supplier seems to have improved, the parcel came today :-)

My cat was a little surprised and scared when I kicked the fat parcel into the living room, but he was also tired and lazy, and seemed to decide everything would be all right ;-)

As you can see, I followed your advice to get some purple and lavender :-) Also, many different reds, some blues, a few greens and teals. And one kilogramm of white lambs wool, Bluefaced Leicester and black merino wool each. I even labelled and packed them all, and I am proud to say I've ordered exactly the right amount to be able to squeeze everything into my boxes ;-)

I'd also like to show you what I made from the last bits of blue, dark grey and purple I had left before I received the package:

 The Storyteller

Arabian Nights

I have already spun this batt up, too, but I haven't had the chance to take a photo yet. The yarn is full of sparkly beads and some black lace fabric, very beautiful :-)

This Week's Favourites

I've been very busy spinning, and just wanted to show you my personal favourites of this week's work :-)

Scottish Punk

(the name might change before I list it, I am not totally convinced yet)

Flowers of Shadow

(same thing with the name)

I am way too tired for anything else, I had quite an exhausting week with lots of work, and an exhausting day with lots of fun and fresh air :-) We went looking for wild garlic in a nearby forest (and were more than successful), practiced archery in perfect weather, had Cream Tea at the Teahouse in Mannheim (complete with scones and sandwiches), went to the local crafts store, made pesto from the collected wild garlic, and ate far too much of it.. ;-)