Monthly Archives: December 2017

Surprise Targhee – Last Blog Reader Specials of the Year!

Knitivity Posted on by

We’re stuck between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and winter has come to Houston.  Not nearly as cold as much of the country, but definitely cold by Houston standards.   But that’s okay because dyeing and steaming yarns has a way of warming the house, and as long as I have no place to go, I’ll be okay.  🙂

Anyway…   I was provided an unexpected supply of a yarn that apparently didn’t make it to market!  What a surprise!  I ordered one thing, and they sent me something else accidentally (it was a yarn they were developing and still had in the warehouse, apparently named the same as what I’d ordered).  They are correcting the mistake and are sending me what I’d originally requested, so it’s all good, and they told me to keep what they sent the first time.

This yarn is 85/15 Superwash Targhee/Nylon, 8-ply cable construction, 380 yards each.  I reminds me of what I used to have as Knitterman’s Fingering (it was 100% Superwash Corriedale, and it is no longer available, alas).  I hope everyone likes this yarn, but not too much, because it is not regularly available.   What a conundrum, eh?   These would make very nice socks, but also crisp lacework, or a cowl or shawlette.   🙂

I have never dyed any Targhee before, so I was interested to see how it behaves in the dye process.  I did  a few sprinkled dyes, as well as some poured wet-dyes, and it seems to take either treatment nicely, without excess or bleeding during the post-dye wash/rinse.   🙂

I do have a small amount of this surprise-to-me yarn, and will likely dye it up later in the season, but I’d like to know from a knitter’s perspective how well it behaves.

If you’d like one or more, just send me an email, tell me which ones by number you want, and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.    These might be ready to ship by tomorrow, but definitely by Tuesday (no mail on Monday).

They were dyed as Twinsets but, as always, you do not have to claim both yarns of a Twinset if you only need one.   With 380 yards a single hank might not make a full pair of adult sized socks, unless you were doing toe-up anklets.

Already Claimed:  841, 842, 843, 844, 845, 846, 847, 848, 849, 850, 851, 852  ALL CLAIMED!

Email, RSS Follow
Pin It

Are You Kidding Me???

Knitivity Posted on by

I don’t believe it!  🙁    I got it all done, crocheted the bottom edges, wove in and hid all the color-change tails, and dropped it into the wash because it was all acrylic.   OOPS, not it wasn’t!  The first band of black was wool, and it felted in the wash.   🙁

There are no words for my disappointment.  And even though it’s my first tri-loom project, knowing the yarn is not a new thing and I should have been more careful.   The black was in the bin with known acrylics (I have no idea why), but I still should have checked.

I can either pitch this aside and leave the weaving to others, or I can fill the holiday weekend with another attempt — with KNOWN yarns so at least I won’t make the same mistake again.

Email, RSS Follow
Pin It

First Tri-Loom Shawl!

Knitivity Posted on by

So, I mentioned before that I bought myself a triangle loom from Roger’s Looms (highly recommend, by the way).   And then some friends surprised me by buying the tripod stand to support it (Thank you, Dez, Lisa, and Diana).    So after a couple false starts, I started this project on Monday, and finished the weaving last night:

I was particularly tickled that my final strand ended up on the bottom center pin and there were no missing pins or pins with double-strands.   So, at least I know I got that part right.   🙂

Now, as for the quality of the work — well, it’s my first one so I’m not going to be toooo hard on myself, but it is clear that my tension is not consistent.  The strands are not straight; the loom is holding everything taut at the moment, and when I take it off and pull on the bias in both directions, the strands should even themselves out, at least a little bit.   I’m still torn whether to add a fringe or try to hide the tails where I changed color.   And, yes, I am aware that my pattern sequence was off — there should have been a black band between the two claret bands toward the middle; my calculations were off.    Oh well.

For now, I am glad I finally broke down and bought the loom.  I’ve been wanting one for a long time.   I’ve not been much drawn to standard weaving looms, but this style where the warp and weft are applied simultaneously looked somewhat easier.   Many Knitivity friends and customers also do weaving on various types of looms; their work is practiced and amazing, I would never presume to be on par with their excellence.

By the way, this first piece was done with leftover RHSS.   I didn’t want to waste the good yarn on a practice piece.   But now that I understand the basic principles, I will do another, probably with some of the superwash Merino worsted wt. yarns.   I’m not really fond of the open weave, but I’ve been told that taking it off the loom and washing it will help things settle down, and doing it with wool will make it even nicer.

Email, RSS Follow
Pin It