I've been knitting

Thank you so much to all of you who commented on your favorite colorways and which colorways might make a good DK weight yarn. It was surprising for me to see which colorways were a hit. The popular ones seem to be Moonflowers, Wisteria, Kelp Seahorse, Fishing With My Father, and Red Robin: Bird, Nest, & Eggs. Thank you so much, everyone. I really appreciate your thoughts.


I used an on-line random number generator, and lucky number 13 was the integer that came up. TigerLily was the 13th person to comment, so the prize goes to her. Congrats, TigerLily!

I've been knitting.


I have three pairs of socks that I haven't shown you all yet. The socks above (pictures were taken with my old camera) were made for my mother, over 60 stitches on size one dpns, using my Autumn's Tremblings yarn. My mother told me that she prefers anklets. Well, why didn't you say so earlier? Anklets? Geez. I'll knit you a whole basket of anklets, mom.

And guess what other bit of knitter's fortune befell me while I was in Texas: my little sister told me that she too prefers anklets.


These anklets, for my little sister, were made with size one dpns over 60 stitches with Opal Tiger. Her school colors are orange and black; their mascot is the panther; I thought, close enough. She's in marching band; they made it to the state competition last year; I don't know why I'm thinking of these anklets as good-luck charms. Somehow, while knitting them, I thought, if she has these, they'll go to state again.

It's very easy for me to see now why "witches" in old stories were also spinners and/or knitters.


And, I did, indeed, make some socks for me. These lovelies were made with size one dpns over 60 stitches using Trekking XXL 126. My mother saw the yarn and LOVED it, so she's getting a pair of Trekking 126 anklets very soon.


Michelle of All Things Crafted sent us six lovely squares. Four were crocheted by her Aunt Sieka (let me know, Michelle, if I spelled her name wrong) and two were knit by Michelle. These squares are for Elwin, a survivor, and in memory of Roger Jimmo. Thank you so much, Michelle!

I'll do a special blanket-drive blog post within the next two weeks, and in that post I'll announce all the winners of the special prizes. Thank you all so much for making this happen.

In the meantime, I have a lot of yarn to dye.

The Real Meanie

You might have noticed that in my earlier post, I said that my Meanie Sock was 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon; previously, however, my yarn was tagged as 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon. The mistake was caused by my taking this information from a sample I had of the yarn and not clarifying the yarn content with my distributor. I only discovered this discrepancy when I tried to reorder the yarn last week. I sincerely apologize for this oversight.

I've heard great reviews from many of you about my nylon/merino yarn base--many of you have touted it as the softest sock yarn ever, something I also strongly agree with. If you are, however, unhappy with this news, please contact me at emeraldatlas [at] yahoo [dot] com, and I will be happy to work something out with you.

My distributor is working on getting a 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon yarn either late summer or early fall. I plan on sampling this yarn, and I'll let you all know which nylon base I like better. For now, I can say that I love my original yarn base; I love dyeing it, knitting with it, and wearing it.


In other news, I dyed up two prototypes of Woolly Boully BIG Boully in the Wisteria colorway. (Many thanks to all of you who made color suggestions--I'll be announcing the winner after the contest's close.) Because they are prototypes, I'll be selling them at a discount in my etsy shop. They'll be listed sometime today.

My new camera came in last week, but I must be doing something terribly wrong. My yarn isn't photographing well. Am I doing something wrong? The camera is a Canon PowerShot. Any suggestions would be welcomed. It seems as if the colors of my yarn only show up truly in the underwater mode. This seems strange to me.

Oh, and the picture above of the leaf is to show you what happens when a normal houseplant, in this case an ivy, is planted into the ground and allowed to grow as it will in a greenhouse.

Again, I feel really badly about mistaking my yarn base as an 80/20 and not as a 75/25. My sincerest apologies and gratitude go out to all of you who have been so supportive of me. I have certainly learned a lot about running a dyeing business. Dyeing yarn has been so fulfilling for me, and I've never been so happy. It's really wonderful to be able to work on something that I love so much.

Lotus Seed Pod & New Contest & Squares

This a seed pod of a lotus. The seeds are edible, and they taste clean, hardy, immaculate. These lotus blooms are from my parents' pond in Texas. They have a few ponds throughout their property. The lotus pond is my favorite. This photo was taken with my old camera. Guess who placed an order for new camera? Yep yep yep. I'm so excited. It will be here Thursday.

Here's a NEW CONTEST for you folks:

As you might know, I'm currently testing out various yarn bases to develop Woolly Boully BIG BOULLY, a dk weight sock yarn.

My questions for you are: a.) Which of my colorways would you like to see in a dk weight?; and b.) Which two of my colorways do you like the best?

Sheri has a nice gallery of my sold-out skeins here, or you can browse the sold items at my etsy shop.

The winner, which will be chosen by a random number generator, will win a skein of my yarn in the colorway and yarn base of their choice. If you want to enter, just leave me a comment to this post with your answers to my questions by midnight on Tuesday, July 3.

Squares and an Extension

I've heard from some of you that there are squares on their way to me. I'm extending the postmark deadline to June 30th, so get those squares in the mail. I'll be doing the prize drawings shortly after that.

Here are some squares that were waiting for me upon my return to Brooklyn.

Senora Fuerte of Mommy, Look What I Made, sent in four lovely squares. Thank you, Senora. The browns and blues are so lovely together.


Kabira sent in these three beautiful squares. They are in honor of her mother, a cancer survivor, and in memory of her father and dear friend Sura. Thank you so much, Kabira, for sharing these with us.


Jessica sent in the a box of ten (!) squares. Wow. Thank you so much, Jessica, for your overwhelming generosity. Your squares are delightful.


Kathy of 3 Grrrls Knit sent in these squares with a touching note.

Kathy's note said: "My squares are for everyone who has been touched by cancer. My mother died of cancer, my husband had melanoma. (We were lucky and caught it early.) There are also the people like you and me who don't have cancer but love someone who does/die. So, my two squares are for all the people who are affected." I was so touched by Kathy's note that I wanted to share it with everyone. Thank you, Kathy.

Oh, and what do you know? Mims, who sent in squares throughout the contest, writes a knitting blog for the Orgeonian. Wow.

Woolly Boully Shop Update

This isn't the important post. The important post is below this one, so please read that one if you haven't already.

I did, however, want to let you all know that I'll be doing a shop update right after I post this.

I'll have a couple of skeins in my original yarn base (Woolly Boully Meanie Sock) in the following colorways:

Woolly Boully Neapolitan
Moonflowers
Lotus Blooms
Brooklyn Candy

I'll also have a couple of skeins in a new 100% superwash merino yarn base (Woolly Boully Softie Sock) in the following colorway:

Fishing With My Father

Also, there will be some changes to my yarn line. The different yarn bases that I will be using will have different names.

Woolly Boully Meanie Sock: my original super soft and fluffy yarn base: 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon. This is by far my favorite sock yarn. I'm calling this yarn base "Meanie" because of the nylon content; however, don't let the name or nylon content fool you--this stuff is super soft and just glides off the needles. You don't notice the nylon at all--it feels and works up like a pure merino.

Woolly Boully Softie Sock: a new 100% superwash merino base. I wanted to bring my colorways to those sock knitters who enjoy a shiny and twisted yarn. This yarn is so pretty to look at and is also super soft. I really enjoyed knitting with it. This one also glides off the needles and is springy.

And, coming soon will be Woolly Boully BIG BOULLY: a dk weight 100% superwash merino sock yarn for those of you who want some instant sock gratification.

Okay, that's enough of a plug for today.

Please please read the previous post if you haven't already; my father read it and said that it made his day. Oh, I knew this knitting blog was good for something.

A Late Father's Day Post

I grew up fishing. There was a pond within walking distance of my childhood home; we caught sunfish there; my sister and I used bamboo poles. Instead of going to amusement parks, my family and I went camping, sometimes for weeks at a time. We fished at Texas lakes and quite often at the Texas coast, in a city called Corpus Christi, where an old airplane runway at the Navy base there served as a fishing pier.

In the photo above, I think I must be just about one, and my father is fishing at Brauning Lake. The tree you see is a type of willow; it doesn't weep.


My father said his new socks fit perfectly, that the heel was where the heel should be.


These socks (men's size 14) were made with my own Woolly Boully sock yarn in the Fishing With My Father colorway, which I dreamt up just for my father, over 72 stitches. I decreased to 68 after the gusset.

* * *

I received some squares while I was away, but I'll reserve those and contest news for another post. I wanted to keep this one for my father.

Fishing With My Father Socks

Fishing With My Father Socks
Originally uploaded by Lone_Knitter

Here's a photo of my socks-in-progress. I'm posting this from flickr, which seems to be more slow-internet-friendly than blogger. I'm hoping it will work. I tried to post a photo from flickr into blogger by using an URL, but I think I was hot-linking. If anyone has tips, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Woolly Boully at the Yarn Grove

Last week, Sheri put my yarn up at the Loopy Ewe, and it's all gone. All gone. I'll have to start dyeing more yarn the moment I get back to Brooklyn. There will be no rest for me! A-dyeing and a-cranking and a-winding I will go.

There are, however, some colorways available at The Yarn Grove. The gals there also posted a really nice bio of how I happened upon my yarn-dyeing life. Stop by if you have a moment, and if you really want one of those colorways, you should purchase now--one colorway is already gone.

Texas is Texas. It's hot and the nights are full of thunder and lightning summer storms. The chiggers and mosquitoes are out a-biting. The fireants are a-building. The dogs are a-stratching from the fleas.

I'm almost done with my Father's Day socks, and I wish I could post a picture for you; however, as ever, this internet connection is so slow. Maybe if I just wait a long, long time the photo will eventually load, but I don't know. Sometimes I don't know if the connection is doing anything at all.

Woolly Boully is now up at the Loopy Ewe!

Sheri has my Woolly Boully yarn up at the Loopy Ewe. (There was a sneak-up last night.) Stop by if you have a minute. As of this blog post, five colorways have already sold out!


Now that the yarn is up on Sheri's site, I can show you my yarn in color.

An embarrassing realization: my camera is on its way out apparently. It's not taking good photos anymore. I didn't know that digital cameras had these abrupt endings until a friend of mine told me. She then pulled out her 7 megapixel camera and showed me the lovely photos she had taken. I went to price new cameras and was so embarrassed to know that 7 megapixels is the norm! I thought 3 was. I thought 7s were so expensive, but now they are priced like the old 3s. And, they now have rechargeable batteries! I guess I don't keep up with consumer goods very well.

Contest Update:

April's winner was Leslie of the Silver Fork Saga. Leslie will receive two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport in the watercolor colorway as well as The Sock Journal: Knit the Year in Socks. Congrats, Leslie!

We've also received lots and lots of squares from the following (blogless) ladies: Marylou B. sent in 20 squares; L.M. B. sent 40 (!) squares; Rosemarie V. made 20 squares; Geri T. made an afghan and a baby blanket; Jackie F. made a baby blanket; and Aunt G's sister Pat made a baby blanket. Mom J has also made quite a few items for the drive as well.

We got more squares from Jody, two from Gingersnaps with Tea, and two from Aileen. Gingersnaps with Tea made her squares for Aunt Betty (a beautiful basket weave square in pima cotton) and Uncle Doug (a wool blend that's big and burly like her Uncle Doug). Thanks so much, ladies!


The contest is almost over. If you want to join in the blanket drive, please have your items postmarked by June 15. At the end of June, I'll be drawing May's and June's winners and also the winners of all the other items we have to give away. There are books, needles, and, yes, yarn, including a ball of Trekking 126. Some of you donated prizes, and we are very grateful to you.

Spinning

I finished spinning and plying my Spunky Eclectic roving. It was a crazy spinning experience. Some of my singles were so overspun and some underspun.


I have to say that it looks better after being plied. I've been carrying this skein around the house as if it were a little baby. I know it's ugly, but it's mine.

I finished my Caterpillar socks. They are made in my favorite good ole stockinette pattern. I must have had a difficult month: the tension on the second sock is unbelievable tight.


I've never had this happen to me and my socks before. One sock is tight and the other loose. Good thing I made them for myself.

Going to Texas

I'll be in Texas until mid-June. I'm going to make my father a special Father's Day present with a new colorway that I made just for my father. It's called Fishing With My Father. (In the photograph below, it's the skein in the foreground. The colorway in the background is Strawberry Moon of June, which already sold out at the Loopy Ewe.)


I wanted to make a sock yarn that wasn't overtly girlie, but I also wanted to make it special. When I was a little girl, my family and I always, always went fishing. I practically grew up on lakes and at the Texas coast. My father has size 14 feet.

p.s. While I'm in Texas, I won't be updating my blog much, and there will be very little in way of photos. The internet connection there is slow, slow. I promise to get a new camera soon, however!

My landlady hears my ballwinder

My landlady hears my ballwinder. She says she can hear her ceiling vibrating. I don't understand it. I've oiled the thing; I turn ever-so-slowly. How can something so small make so much noise?

My fridge also died last week. Manly and I had to wait until someone came by to declare it dead before my landlady would order another. Being a tenant makes me feel so beaten down, as if my life isn't mine. I'm trying to look at the brighter side of everything these days, but it feels so difficult to sometimes.

Speaking of brighter sides, the photo above will reveal itself in color once Sheri at the Loopy Ewe gets the order. I got this idea from Susie of Perchance to Knit, who also dyes for the Loopy Ewe.

As a sock knitter and hoarder of sock yarn, I had to stare at this mountain for a while before boxing it. I also had to refrain from wanting to cuddle with each skein.

What is said about drinking and knitting can also be said about spinning. I spun the majority of this after a few glasses of wine:


Non-wine spinning:


(The roving is "Autumn Girls" from Spunky Eclectic, which was given to me by Coley.)

Mind you, I haven't been taught how to spin, so I'm sure that my spinning looks like a very drunk person spun it. I bought a book, read it, and looked at videos on-line. This is also how I taught myself to knit. A spinning friend of mine is coming over this week, and hopefully she can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I want to thank you all for the warm comments that you left for me these past two weeks. It's really comforting to know that people are with you and thinking good thoughts for you. Thank you.

A Blue Square

Some of you have asked if I'm alright. I haven't posted in a while for several reasons. This is the time of the semester when it's impossible to stay sane or calm. I've also been having a great time fulfilling my first big dyeing order, which will be finished and shipped out by the middle of next week.

I'm okay, but I haven't quite been myself lately either. I'm withdrawn and distracted these days and a bit sad. I realize that I've reached out to you all in the knitting community to knit squares for cancer patients, but at the same time, I haven't been fair to all of you who have been so generous and giving. I've been keeping a secret because there's a part of me that believes that everything will be okay as long as I be secretive about it.

I've started knitting a square for my father, who was diagnosed with cancer last summer. He's starting chemotherapy tomorrow. This square is for you, daddy. I love you. I am here for you, and I'm always, always thinking of you. It's blue, because I know that's your favorite color.

* * *

I got more squares from Jody and Joanna and Mims. Mims made her squares in honor of her cousin Katherine who is a survivor.


Thank you so much, girls. Your squares are so beautiful, and you all are really making this blanket drive happen.

* * *

I started the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts that everyone is making. I know now why everyone is making this scarf. It's fun and foolproof. I think that any unusual color combination looks great in this pattern.


This scarf will be for my mother. A very late Mother's Day gift.

* * *

Oh, I lugged something home from the post office today. Originally, I was supposed to get this to celebrate finishing my first big dyeing order, but I kind of had a hard time with that line of reasoning.


What you're seeing is the wheel of a Louet S17 spinning wheel that that ordered from Adrian of Hello Yarn. I decided to go with a Louet S17 because I think I really did want a wooden wheel, and I really like the look of Louet wheels. You can't beat Adrian's prices, either. The wheel came with half a pound of luscious roving. I can't wait to get this thing polished and put together.

p.s. I'm planning on doing April's prize drawing soon. I just need to collect the names of some lovely ladies who sent some squares to Mom J. Hopefully I get those soon.