Monthly Archives: August 2019

Sifting and sorting

Knitivity Posted on by

Yesterday my granddaughter came and helped me empty the workroom.  This isn’t even half of what came out of the workroom and now sits in my living room, but it is my current view from where I’m typing.

I’ve begun going through the bins, and I admit I am pitching a LOT of  things into the trash.  But I am also finding some things that other people might really really want (some AMAZING buttons marked at $5 each, or various collections of DPNs and Circulars still in the packaging).   So I am putting those things aside for now, probably to have a “Stuff Sale” in the next week or two.  But mostly I’m just pitching things I’ve not seen or cared about for a good long while.

I am also finding some of my missing needles and crochet hooks, so that’s a good thing.  For this I am grateful.

One thing I learned long ago is that you don’t throw away tools and equipment, except what is broken, of course.  It’s okay to throw away consumables (like yarn or paints or dyes), but never discard needles, hooks, and other tools.  Over the years, though, I have held onto various yarns with the thought, “I could make something with this.”   Sadly, for most of what I see in front of me now, I think, “What the hell was I thinking? Why did I hold onto this stuff?” So, if I don’t instantly feel a connection to this or that, it goes to the trash.

I need to dye sometime this weekend, but I can’t pull hanks from cones until this mess is cleared up, so there’s an incentive to push forward and not get emotionally involved with the decisions at this point.   If I don’t love it or have an immediate recognition of why to keep something, it is going in the trash.

So, anyway, if I don’t get a new batch of Blog Reader Specials up in time for the long weekend, it’s because I’m still sifting and sorting.

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Not what I was expecting, but it’s all good

Knitivity Posted on by

Awwrighty, then!!  Another week has flown by!  In spite of a brief overnight respite once during the week (rain, blessed rain), it’s still hot as can be here and it is truly wearing me out, both physically and mentally.  I’m so over this nonsense!  This will be a brief posting, as I’m really not feeling well, and haven’t for a couple weeks — I’m blaming it on this horribly hot weather simply draining me.

On Friday I did some more Bare Naked Phydlbitz.   Five  Nine have been claimed, but there are still nine five more available to be claimed.  These are regular Phydlbitz Sock yarn, 75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards, but they are made from combining leftover cones so there are deliberate joins, and they are UNdyed.  Other than that, they’ve been treated like my other yarns and will be reskeined and labeled so they’re ready for you to knit up.  To claim them, just send me an email and tell me how many you want.  They are $15.00 each; they will likely be ready to ship tomorrow, but I’ll say on or before Tuesday, allowing time for mishaps.  🙂

Anyway, once I got the Bare Naked Phydlbitz taken care of, I dyed this week’s regular batch of Phydlbitz Sock last night, and got them washed, rinsed, and hanging this morning.  They didn’t all turn out as I expected, but that’s okay — none are an utter disappointment this time!   These will be reskeined, labeled, and ready to ship on or before Wednesday, and are $27.00 apiece.

To claim the one(s) you want, send me an email with your numbered selection(s).  There is no obligation to take both skeins of a Twinset

Already Claimed:  676, 677, 678, 679, 686, 687, 692,  693, 698, 699

 

 

 

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What a Weird Week!

Knitivity Posted on by

Another week of ghastly hot weather, and I’m not doing as well as I wish I were.  Not sick-sick or anything drastic, just feeling utterly drained.  Guzzling water and Gatorade definitely helps.  Someone told me recently that if you need it, Gatorade is delicious; when you’ve had enough, Gatorade doesn’t taste so great.  It tasted delicious alllll day yesterday.  Hmmmm…

I’ve made my little errand run, and now I’m hiding indoors the rest of the day.   Yesterday we had mid-to-upper 90s, with heat index nearing 110 by late afternoon, and I was dyeing and working with the steamer in the kitchen.  Probably a mistake but I wanted to get it done.

But enough about that, let’s talk about yarn.   I had 28 skeins to dye yesterday, a little more than normal.  I also discovered that two of the skeins came with knots/joins from the manufacturer, so I marked those with a thick yellow nylon cord; this makes them easy to identify and pull from a tub of other yarns in the pre-dye soaker.  Those (#656/657) were dyed in a solid single dye-mix of red and purple.  I got the color I was aiming for, but even though mixed into a single dye, the dye still broke a little bit and you can see some variation along the strand.  Even so, it will be lovely!

Most of these will knit up into self-striping spiral striping socks, which many people enjoy.

I discovered after washing that there was some dye transfer onto yarns that made them not what I’d intended and thus not for sale.  So I lost three Twinsets that will be overdyed next week, and I have fewer yarns than normal to show this week even though I started with more.   Oh well, it happens sometimes.

These were all dyed as Twinsets, but there’s no obligation to take both skeins if you only want one.

These will all be ready to ship on or before Wednesday.  To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your selections.   All Phydlbitz Sock yarn is $27.00 each, but for Sunday and Monday you can have preview pricing at $25.00 each.

Already Claimed:  656, 657, 660, 661, 662, 663, 666, 668, 670, 671, 674, 675 

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First Collection of August

Knitivity Posted on by

Update:  All the yarns that were not claimed during the preview period have now been reskeined and posted to the Blog Reader Specials page.  Check there for individual pics and see which ones are still available at the time of your visit.  Shown just below is the group shot of the remaining skeins:

I learned this week that the month after July shall hereafter be called “UGH-ust”, with temps in the mid- to upper-90s, triple digit heat indices, and high humidity with “air you can wear.”   And boy, that’s the truth.

I have set aside the 20-stitch blanket for the moment and have started a project for my son-in-law.   He’s requested a set of four beanies, all in black.  I can handle knitting on a beanie more easily than a heavy wool blanket that just grows and grows, at least in this weather.  The beanies will all have unique stitch patterns, but none too fancy or complicated.  He’ll have them long before cooler weather arrives, and then I can return to the blanket project.

By the way, for my SIL’s beanies, I’m using Plymouth Encore (75/25 Acrylic/Wool), purchased from WEBS— Great customer service, large selection.   If you have to use an acrylic blend yarn for projects that might see rough-and-tumble wear, I recommend Plymouth Encore.  But, for custom-dyed wools and other fine fibers, I’d recommend asking me for a custom dye job. 🙂

Anyway, I dyed yarns this morning and the forecasted rains didn’t appear so I was able to get pictures this evening.  I had to make a larger-than-normal collection this week as I have some things coming up this week that I need to take care of; I figure if I offer more I might sell more this weekend.  🙂

These should all be ready to ship on Tuesday or Wednesday.   They were all dyed as Twinsets, but as always there’s no obligation to take both of a pair if you only want one.  Twinsets are great for larger-than-sock patterns, but also handy if you want to make a matching pair of socks for you and your partner.

Phydlbitz Sock is $27.00 a skein, but for Friday through Sunday, before these get reskeined for presentation photographs, you can have preview pricing at $25.00 apiece.

To claim the ones you want, just email me with your selections; if you are new here, or haven’t ordered in a long while, remind me of your shipping destination so that I can calculate correct shipping/handling charges.

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