Monthly Archives: May 2021

Why I’m not dyeing this weekend (yet)

Knitivity Posted on by

Well… y’all know I dye yarn to earn money.   And y’all know that dyeing yarn takes a bunch of water.   And that I work in my kitchen.  And that’s where my water is.

This is the state of my kitchen sink at the moment.  That’s the top of the drain pipe, glaring up at me from the middle of the big gaping hole in the bottom of the sink.  It is supposed to be connected to the sink.  It’s not connected.  And I’m not dyeing yarn.

No photo description available.

I started noticing a leak when I would put dishes in to soak before scrubbing (makes scrubbing them so much easier — let the soap do what the soap does), and the water level would go down a bit.   I thought at first it was time for a new sink strainer/stopper.  I was mistaken, as I discovered when I actually heard dripping underneath and found the plastic dishpan in the cabinet full to overflowing.

It took a few days before Fixer-Dude came to deal with it.

I thought (and Fixer-Dude thought) it was just a worn gasket or something under there.  Easy fix.   So he got a new gasket thingie and set about to install it.  Turned out that one of the nuts was broken as well, so he went back to the hardware to get the other stuff he needed.  That was last evening.  I thought he would return sometime today to put in all the parts and get it all back together again.  He tends to work later in the day, so he may still come, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be dyeing anything today.

I have my yarns ready to go, but I’m not putting them into the pre=dye soaker until I know I’m going to be dyeing.  Wet yarns tend to stink if they’re left in the soaker too long.

Anyway, if you’re wondering why I’ve not shown a new collection of Blog Reader Specials yet this weekend, this is why.   🙂

Meanwhile, since I’m not dyeing, I’m not making new money to cover all my regular bills due at the first of the month.  This is a problem.   So, if you see anything you like on the Blog Reader Specials page, send me an email with your selection of two or more yarns and include the word Drainpipe in your request and I’ll take 20% off your order.  This offer is only valid until the sink is fixed and I’ve posted a new collection of Blog Reader Specials, which will probably be Tuesday if I can dye tomorrow, or Wednesday if I can’t dye until Tuesday.

 

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And the rains keep coming

Knitivity Posted on by

Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. Seems like we always get heavy rains and minor flooding this time of year.   Based on projections early last week, I anticipated clearing on Saturday.  The rains continued unabated, and I finally broke down and dyed yesterday.  The rains only let up briefly a couple hours ago so I could quickly run the yarns outside for pictures and then hurry them back into the fan room to stay safe and start drying.

Here’s a pic from just a few minutes ago.   For comparison, Hurricane Harvey (Sep 2017) brought the water up to the 3rd slat of my front ramp, still a couple feet below the floor of the trailer.   There is quite a way to go before I ask the landlord about installing a ladder and diving board.  Hahahaha.

Anyway, onward to yarns!

I got tired of waiting for my supplier to get the Phydlbitz Sock base back in stock, and they did have it prepacked in individual skeins, so I got that instead.   It’s the same yarn from the same mill,  just a different put-up from them and a slightly different way for me to prepare them for dyeing.  It is a bit more convenient in some respects and they are almost neat enough to not need reskeining, but I’ll still do that; I just like how it looks when it’s washed, rinsed, dried, and properly reskeined.

I had set out to include some Midnight Green, as well as some Dusty Rose.  My dyes weren’t really cooperating, but I did at least get a Twinset of Shadows on the Grass (#420-421), and Shadows on the Concrete  (#430-431).   The purple-y ones (#408-409 and #412-413) were an equal blend of purple and violet mixed into a single jar.  And, of course, I did manage to get a  version of Grass Green using Knitivity Green #1.

Because of the anticipated rains, extra humidity, and cooler temperatures, I anticipate an extra day for drying time, so these should be ready to ship by Thursday.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards) and will be $27.00 when they move to the Blog Read Specials page.  For Monday and Tuesday, they are available at $25.00 each.

They were all dyed as Twinsets, but you don’t have to claim both skeins of a Twinset if  you only need one.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered selections. I’ll mark them off on the Available Yarns tally chart in the order your requests are received.

EDIT:  All of the yarns not claimed during preview pricing from the images below have now been reskeined and individually posted to the Blog Reader Specials page; click through to see which yarns are available at the time of your visit.

 

 

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