Monday, February 11, 2008

sock it 2 me, one more time

Here are the newest colors and I love them both...the yarn is the merino washable sock yarn, and they were both handpainted and micro dyed...I used at least three different dyes in this process...telana, jaquard, and gaywool, and mixed them with water and a bit of vinegar, and soaked the yarn in vinegar and water first....then microed them for a total of about ten minutes altogether with time in between, and they came out totally exhausted and I wasn't...it is a great way to have a dyeing day without lugging big vats of water, and I have it down so there is little mess, and all happens quite quickly...one thing I have learned in doing this process, is that after I have soaked the wool in vinegar and water, I then put it in the washing machine and spin the water out, then dye it...that way there is no pooling in liquid as it steams...minimal liquid in the saran wrap...and then I dry it and skein it in 50 gram skeins...this is rather work intensive for the money you get for sock yarn...what with the gallery or shop taking ther percentage...not a very lucrative business if it goes in shops, although when I sell at the market in the summer and I get all the money for it , it is more lucrative. But I do love having all these socks to knit, as I c annot resist making socks out of all the colors I like so usually I get a pair out of each dye lot.


Now am working on a pair which has a great pattern on the leg part...two rows knit, one row pl kn l , and I love the look and the elasticity of this. so off to knit more socks...

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