Monthly Archives: March 2019

Wow, another month is ending!

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Time seems to be flying by this year so far.  Already the end of March!

This week’s Blog Reader Specials are my regular two-dozen Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards) collection.   I had some difficulties with them yesterday, and some didn’t turn out quite the way I expected, but unmet expectations sometimes yield the best surprises.  🙂

As I view this week’s collection I recognize that some would be excellent for shawls and scarves and other projects, but there are others that would be ideal for the new-to-me stitch  pattern I’ve been playing with – the Rank and File pattern.   I’ve tried it with several yarns and I think it is best used with wildly variegated yarns, as this allows the many colors to show through better and create

The basic stitch pattern is given here, and I’m going to be playing with forming a cowl from sock yarns with one of the variegated sock yarns I’ve done recently.

Rank and File Stitch

Note: when moving yarn forward or back to slip a stitch, be sure to return the yarn to the correct position for the next stitch.

CO – multiple of 2

Row 1 – knit across all stitches

Row 2 – K1, *yarn forward, slip 2, yarn back, put 2 slipped stitches back to left, knit those 2 stitches, repeat from *, ending with K1.

Row 3 – K1, *P1, Slip 1 with yarn in back, repeat from *, K1

Row 4 – K1, *Slip 1 with yarn in front, K1; repeat from *, K1

 

All of these new Blog Reader Specials will be ready to ship on or before Wednesday.  They are normally $27.00 each, but for Saturday and Sunday (today and tomorrow) you can claim any of these for just $24.50 at preview pricing.

To claim yours, just send me an email with your numbered selections

Already Claimed:  249-250, 251-252, 253-254, 255-256, 259-260, 261-262, 265-266

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Spring has Sprung!!

Knitivity Posted on by

Yesterday, 3/21, was the first full day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  I could not be more glad for that.  Unfortunately, there has been a HUGE fire at one of the oil refinery plants, which started on Sunday and re-ignited a couple times, including this afternoon.  Thus, there has been huge plumes of smoke over my area, as well as “shelter-in-place” warnings, school closures, and other sorts of inconvenience.   For me, it’s only meant not fully enjoying doors and windows open very much, plus a bit of a cough.

Other than that, though,  I was able to get an early start on this week’s Blog Reader Specials, dyeing up two dozen Phydlbitz Sock.   Because I have changed some of my methods and techniques over the years, I decided to try some of the older colorways with the newer methods.  I wasn’t disappointed with how things turned out, just disappointed I couldn’t replicate the earlier colorways.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $27.00.  In honor of Spring’s arrival on  21 March, this week’s preview pricing (effective through Sunday) is $3.21 OFF — $23.79!

They’re all in the fan room to finish drying.  I hope to get them reskeined on Sunday or Monday, posted to the BRS page on Tuesday, so they should be shipping on or before Wednesday.    While experimenting, I started with Singles, then switched to Twinsets, so there’s a mix in this week’s collection.   The Twinsets are indicated with a little underscore line joining the pairs together.  When appropriate I have rotate one skein of each Twinset so you can see all the colors on both skeins.  If you need closer pictures of specific skeins to guide your selections, feel free to ask.

Already claimed: 223, 224, 227, 228, 230, 232, 234 

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It Came Back!

Knitivity Posted on by

Way back in 2010, Leo Pola came to visit and he tried his hand at dyeing some yarn.

After his first pass with a single skein (above), he did a pair for himself that I would later send to him after they were cooled, washed, and dried.    I’d forgotten his did two for himself, but my collection of photos with dates showed both of these as his own DIY yarns.

After he dyed the ones he wanted, we put them into the steamer, and I later reskeined them:

After his passed in December, Eileen volunteered to go through his yarn collection and she found one of these skeins, and just this week sent it to me so I’d have a tangible memory of his visit so long ago:

I had also forgotten that he had dyed his yarns on Dura-Lace.   Back in 2010 I was still working with my previous supplier, who did not carry a lace-weight yarn, but they did have a rather popular line of 4-ply sock yarn, 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, about 460 yards.   I asked if they could use the same sock yarn plies, using only 2 of the 4 strands, and turn it into a laceweight, with a superwash wool and nylon.   After a little experimentation, they were able to produce what I dubbed Dura-Lace, put up at about 920 yards, a 2ply laceweight.   And, they gave me a 1-year exclusive before they would start producing and marketing it for others.   And I just checked — they are still marketing the product  I called for, so surely I had a great idea that continues to make money for them!    (Because I parted ways with this company on less than ideal circumstances shortly after Leo’s visit, I’m not going to name them, so don’t ask.)

So, anyway, one of Leo’s two DIY yarns has now made it back to where it was first dyed.  My task now is to figure out what it wants to become.  Any ideas?  Do I knit something?  Do I capture it under domed glass for posterity?  Beyond the value of a hand-dyed yarn, of course, it has added meaning because it was hand-dyed by someone we all treasure in the knitting community.

 

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Shawl-ready?

Knitivity Posted on by

It is rare that I get happy over an entire day’s work, but I was particularly pleased with last night’s efforts when I saw them this morning.  Here they are, fresh from bursting their pouches just before washing.   If it were up to me, I’d do a few hundred Twinsets, lay them all out like this and mount them as a wall covering.  🙂

There are 24  Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards), all dyed as Twinsets.   I am particularly pleased with these as many of the Twinsets are ideal for shawls and larger projects.   As always, for larger projects like shawls or baby blankets, I recommend using both skeins of a Twinset simultaneously, alternating balls every few rows/rounds to minimize pooling.

These will be processed and ready to ship on or before Wednesday.   To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered selections.

Phydlbitz Sock is regularly $27.00 a skein, but for Saturday and Sunday, you can have preview pricing at $25.00 a skein.

All the ones not claimed from the preview racks have now been posted to the Blog Reader Specials page; click through to see which ones remain available at the time of your visit.  

 

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Sometimes I surprise myself!

Knitivity Posted on by

edit:  All of the yarns that were not claimed from the preview racks down below have been posted now to the Blog Reader Specials page.  Be sure to click through and see which yarns remain available at the time of your visit.  Shown here are the group shots of the unclaimed yarns.   All of these are Phydlbitz Sock, 75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards:

Another week has passed, and progress made on correcting the scarf I showed last week.  i’m nearly done reknitting the new parts.  I’ll make a separate post about that later in the week, when it is finished, so I can show exactly how I corrected the problem.

Meanwhile, I dyed another couple dozen Phydlbitz Sock yesterday.   While I was pulling hanks, one of the cones ran out just shy of a full 430 yards, at about 400 yards.  I went ahead and dyed it with the rest, and will take an extra $2.00 off that one.   I stuck it at the end of the 2nd rack, easy to find —  it is #198 and marked “short”.    🙂

They were all dyed as Twinsets — two dyed together in the same pouch with the same dyes, to ensure color compatibility.    Several (179-180, 181-182, 185-186, and 189-190) will most likely knit up as self-spiral-striping when knit as socks, as this often happens with segmented dyes; the others (dyed in cloud-print or watercolor techniques) will do well in larger projects, like shawls, scarves, etc., while knitting from two skeins and alternating every couple of rows to minimize pooling.

All of these will be ready to ship on or before Wednesday, and are offered for Saturday and Sunday at preview pricing – $25.00 each.   On Monday they’ll go to the Blog Reader Specials page at regular price, $27.00, after reskeining and individual presentation photos.

For today and tomorrow, if you need a better view of a specific Twinset, just let me know and I will try to get a shot like this one (#175-176) for you.  This pair just struck me as particularly pretty.   You might be attracted to some other yarns, so I’m happy to make an extra photo to help your decision-making.  🙂

To claim the one(s) you want, just send me an email and indicate  your numbered choices.

Already Claimed:  175, 176, 177, 178, 187, 188, 197, 198

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