Yarn Hollow

Dr. Frankensock dissects a sock flat for your benefit

2009-05-24T20:12:00.001-04:00

Let's get all biological with the sock "blank." Let's dissect it, examine its parts, see what happens when we do a little Doctor Frankenstein with the dyed flat. The point of this exercise in sockian anatomy is to translate the different potential patterns made in the colors to what it may look like knit up in a sock. Perhaps this will entice you to try a new dyed pattern, or to do a little dissection of your own. Perhaps this will inspire you to try dyeing a sock flat and do something new. Hopefully this information will be interesting. It certainly was super fun to both dye and knit.

To start the lesson, here is a picture of the dyed sock flat. It's a two-strand machine knit flat of fingering weight yarn. The fiber content is 60% Merino superwash, 30% bamboo, and 10% nylon. This yarn is sometimes called "Squish" when in a Yarn Hollow skein. The Yarn Hollow flats are sometimes branded as "Sock Religious" - for those devoted to sock knitting. In either the skein or the flat dyed piece, there are 434 yards of yarn, enough for a long, highly patterned sock.

The dye colors were chosen in order to show a lot of contrast in the sections knitted. I used periwinkle, lime, pear, tan, chocolate brown, and indigo.

Yarn, Safety Pin, Life Line

To start a Yarn Hollow sock flat, start with the edge that contains a safety pin that is winding three separate threads: one life line, and the double stranded yarn. Unpin the safety pin and untie the tie securing the three threads. ne thread is going to be obviously a different thread - most likely cotton. This is the lifeline. Gently pull out the lifeline.

Pull out the lifeline

Then find the two strands that are the Merino/Bamboo/Nylon and give a yank. This will start them unravelling from the larger piece. I wind one into a small ball as I unravel and then pin it to the main piece with the safety pin.

Start unravelling

Now, onto the cuff. I cast on 72 stitches on size 1 needle, 24 stitches on each needle, and knit a k2 p2 cuff starting with the lead thread. If you see the color changes at the top of the flat, it starts with lime, then pear, then a little tan, then chocolate brown. Easy peasy.

Top of the sock flat, showing the color changes lime, pear, tan, chocolate, a thin line of tan, and more chocolate

Ribbing, changing from lime, to pear, to tan, to chocolate brown

To show you what white/ecru, undyed spaces can look like knit up, the next section I chose was the periwinkle and white thick vertical stripe with a periwinkle and tan vertical stripe below it. Underneath that is a thick periwinkle stripe. This section comprises the majority of the leg knitting.

In the dyed flat piece

Leg Knit from flat piece shown above

Just below the large periwinkle stripe there is a thin stripe of chocolate brown, which is the last of the straight-knit leg before the heel flap.

For the heel flap, I took the ball I had unravelled and set aside, and separated the strands. This became the heel flap and heel cup. You can see that section in the flat knit piece in the photo above. It is the section that is the second thick brown stripe with a tan stripe underneath. It worked perfectly for the flap and cup.

Heel flap and cup (eye of partridge for flap, 36 stitches, 36 rows)

After the heel flap and cuff, I changed yarn again and started with the section just past the white and indigo diagonal stripe. So to get to that area, I unraveled the white and indigo diagonal stripe into one ball and started knitting with the area just below it. I didn't use the entire section, using the first shorter diagonal section and half of the multi-colored stripes. I really love the blend of periwinkle, lime, pear with hints of tan and brown.

Flat Knit Section for the Instep Decreases Instep Decreases

Okay, almost done with the dissection. Now I just need to wait for the electrical storm... just kidding...

Seriously, the next section is the straight-knit foot section, which due to the monstrous size of my feet, goes on forever. So I chose the previously-unraveled white and indigo diagonal stripe. It's interesting how the white/ecru area with the indigo make a pattern slightly evocative of arrowheads. See this result inspires me to try different contrasts and larger sections of diagonal striping...

White and Indigo Diagonal Stripes

Pattern slightly evocative of arrowheads

Now for the toe. I changed to the last remaining bit of the knitted, dyed flat piece, in the leopard pattern. It was neat to just knit away on it, watching the colors change on the white/ecru background.

The toe.

Here's the complete sock. I love it!

Fini.

To quickly go over the details, I cast on 72 stitches on size 1 US (2.25 mm) double pointed needles. The ribbed cuff was about 2-1/2 inches long, the leg about 6 inches long. The heel flap was knit on 36 stitches for 26 rows. I picked up 19 side stitches on each side of the flap. The toe was decreased in a standard 4-section decrease on every other row. The toe was finished with Kitchner stitch on about 10 stitches front and back. I like a wider toe.

Next, two socks knit from Cookie A patterns in which I expound on how much I love her pattern writing. One will be from a Sockreligious flat and the other is from a new yarn, Elemental, with a hint of silver.

Socks, Socks, Socks, and Shawls

2009-03-03T10:30:00.002-05:00

Roxie McGee came up with a different way to knit her socks from the Sock Religious product, and was so kind as to agree to let me post on the blog about it. She was not a fan of big stripes, and wanted a more subtle transition of color in her socks, so she prepared the yarn into four smaller balls, and is knitting with two strands from two balls, knitting two socks at the same time. Make sense? Here's the detail.
She snipped the middle of the sock blank to divide it into half. Then she made two identical balls from the top part of the flat knitted piece (A and A1 I'll call them) and then two identical balls from the bottom part of the flat knitted piece (B and B1). Then she is holding two strands together - A and B for one sock and A1 and B1 for the second sock.

She's knitting a Cat Bordhi sock patter from New Pathways for Sock Knitters, and has a modified toe, which looks great. Notice the great tweedy look from the two strands held together - it's a great looking, and cushioning sock!

Renee Pattison also shared a flat knitted piece that she dyed at the Color Play Class at City Knitting in November, 2008. She is knitting the Sugar Maple from 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.
You can see in this picture are big area of the hand-dyed knitted fabric being used.

I love how they are turning out! Renee provided several pictures to show the progress, and has written about them on her blog. It was great to meet Renee at the class, and we had a great time dyeing the blank knitted pieces.

This class is being held again on April 18th, 2009 at City Knitting in Eastown. Call them at (616) 454-YARN to sign up. It's enormously fun, and there are two sessions to choose from - 8:00 a.m. - Noon or 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

OK, now for some big news. Someone you all know is going to be a vendor at Sock Summit 2009 from August 5-9. Can you say shocked? I can. My first reaction was "No Way!" Now the reaction fluctuates between "I am so excited" and "Holy Moly there is a lot to do to get there." But get there we will, "we" being my dear husband - my stalwart travel companion for this enormous adventure - and I. There are a few new products in the works for this, using some of the very best local wool as well. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive, encouraging, and generous with offers of help to prepare! I know I can do it, and I will be taking you all up on your generous offers; with your help and support it will be that much better! More on this as it develops.

OK, that covers "Socks, Socks, Socks..." from the title. Now "...and Shawls." I had cast on last summer for a Pi Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmermann. It's knit in a Superfine Merino 2-ply at 875 yards to 4 ounces/113 grams. It got stalled out because I was thinking that the color combination - "Phoenix" - was too busy for the shawl.

[Pi Shawl Center]
I have had a change of heart, and think that it's pretty awesome. It does swirl, there's a lot to look at, but the pattern is simple - only yarn overs in increase rows.

[Pi Shawl Swirls of Color, and Increase Row]
Many knitters add fabulous eyelet and other pattern combinations in the non-increase rows for beautiful effect - just look at all the fabulous projects for the Pi Shawl on Ravelry. I am choosing to keep this one simple and let the colors just play. It's nearly time to choose a decorative border - perhaps in knit, perhaps in crochet. Not sure yet, but I am dedicated to finishing this and adding it to the display as another option for color lover!

[There's a lot of yarn left from an 8-ounce skein!]

OK, next post... Baby Surpise Jacket/booties/hat, "Surprise, Surprise" by City Knitting, and some amazing felt made from Targhee X wool from Agriculture and Health Alive in Marne, MI. Let's see what becomes of it!
And thanks to Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of the Grand Rapids Press and Craft Sanity. She was at the Woodland Weavers and Spinners Guild last night, and her talk inspired me to blog today, and commit to blogging more regularly. Thanks, Jennifer!

Thanks Rowan for Showing Us More Great Socks!

2009-02-21T10:21:00.003-05:00

Rowan O'Dougherty is a pretty amazing knitter. One of the best I know. Prolific, great tension, adventurous, never-say-can't (check out his lace projects on Ravelry...) type of knitter. He has graciously sent pictures of the socks he has designed using one of the Sock Religious sock flats. The one he chose is a subtle range of browns and caramels.

He designed his sock toe-up, with a double-decrease at the top of the foot to eat the extra stitches from the gusset. It is elegant and shapely.

I love the gentle transitions in colors with a few rows of each color alternating between the various solids.

Check out Rowan's blog for more information about him and his beautiful projects.

Are You Devoted to Sock Knitting?

2009-02-04T08:07:00.006-05:00

Knitting and crocheting from a machine-knit and hand-dyed piece of knitting seems to be all the rage right now, and Yarn Hollow has a product that fits the niche! Introducing "Sock Religious," a product for those of you who are devoted to sock knitting.

The yarn, a Merino Superwash/Bamboo/Nylon blend, is perfect for socks. It has the softness, loft, and wash-ability of merino superwash, the anti-microbial properties, wicking, and strength of bamboo, with nylon for wearability and memory. Each piece has 4 oucnes/434+ yards of yarn, enough to make a highly-patterned, long sock, or a scarf, gloves, a hat knit or crochet in a fine gauge, or other fiber arts product that will delight you.

Each Sock Religious flat-knit piece is machine knit with two strands of yarn, creating two identical strands which will then create two identical socks, if that is your wish.

The funnest part of Sock Religious is the seeing how the color placement works out as a result of the dyeing. Stripes make stripes, of course, but the more random and symbolic-inspired patterns create enormous variety in color placement. Diane Vander Pol, a member of the Woodland Weavers and Spinners, knit these socks with a Sock Religious piece where the motif vageuly resembles a "tumbling dice" pattern. Look at the before and after! It's magical!

Sock Sole knit from flat knitted Sock Religious piece (shown above)

You can find Yarn Hollow flat-knitted, hand-dyed pieces at City Knitting in Eastown and Country Needleworks on Chicago Drive in Jenison. More information about the products will be uploaded at the Yarn Hollow website, too.

As always, if you have purchased a flat knitted, hand-dyed piece and have comments or feedback, I would love to hear from you!

Two more pictures of the work of Diane Vander Pol, knitter extraordinaire. Thanks for sharing, Diane!

Thank You! Dyeing Classes! New Products!

2008-09-16T09:03:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a summer! It's been super busy. Thank you to everyone who has visited me at the Fiber Festival at Castle Farms and Michigan Fiber Festival. I really appreciate your enthusiasm and patronage! It's been wonderful to meet you all and talk fiber! Let's spread around more thanks to the organizers of the Fiber Arts Festival at Castle Farms and Michigan Fiber Fest for hosting such amazing fiber events.

Thank you as well to everyone who participated in my dyeing classes this summer at City Knitting! I had a great time working with you all. Friday's advanced dyeing day was inspirational, and hopefully you all learned a lot! I was very inspired by everyone's color ideas. The beginner's class on Saturday was great, too. Thank you to Gail, Lori, and Deb for participating and letting me teach you. I hope you've been able to continue to explore color!

If you are interested in dyeing and don't want to make a mess at your house, look no further for a venue. City Knitting has scheduled two dyeing days with a total of three classes on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22. Friday's class is Beginning Dyeing, all day (will update the precise times later...) in which you will learn about safety, mixing dye powder into stock solution, application, etc. Then on Saturday, there will be two sessions of Dyeing Fun, in which people with previous dyeing experience can come and use my dyes and equipment to experiment with dye on a variety of materials of their choice - sock blanks anyone???

These classes are fabulous opportunities to learn about dyeing, color mixing and theory, and most importantly to stretch your creative wings and fly out of the class with gorgeous fibers that you have colored with your own hands! Materials requirements and times will be posted on the City Knitting website soon!

The sock knitting bug is still going strong, and I can't wait to attend the Cookie A. class next month. If you are looking for a new and different put-up of sock yarn, look no further than City Knitting. I just dropped off 35 dyed sock flats in a variety of colors. These 4-ounce, 434 yard flats are a combination of Merino Superwash, Bamboo, and Nylon. They are soft, lofty, and have lots of yardage for even the most intricate of patterns. They are knitted together with two strands so you can knit two sock together or knit from the flat and wind up the second strand for the second sock. I will be working on some guidelines with pictures to post soon. And pictures. I will eventually take some pictures.

Upcoming Shows
September 26-27 - Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool, Ogemaw County Faigrounds, near West Branch, MI. This is the most beautiful fairgrounds, ever, and super friendly people organizing and attending. Come and enjoy the color changes and shop for gorgeous fiber. Remember, wool is insulating and it's going to be a cold, long winter.

Saturday, October 4, YarnCon - Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, Chicago, IL. Wow, am I excited to be in this show!

October 25th and 26th - Fiber Expo at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Saline, MI. This festival has a great list of classes and a tremendous variety of vendors! There's something for everyone! Hope to see you there!

Coming soon, information on new fibers and new locations for purchasing Yarn Hollow yarn, kits, and fibers!

Thanks for reading everyone! XO,
Rita

Updates on Classes! More yarn at City Knitting!

2008-05-28T10:26:00.008-04:00

Hi there Readers!
I am teaching two dyeing classes at City Knitting in June 2008 - you will not want to miss them!
The first class - Advanced Dyeing - is on Friday, June 13th from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The goals of the class are to do more color analysis and see what primaries you would use to develop your own colors! This is a hands-on class with the goal or dyeing two skeins (or more, if you have time) of yarn in the colors you develop by mixing primaries. Bring lots of color ideas and a spirit of adventure! More information on both classes can be found here.

The second class is the Beginning Dye workshop on Saturday, June 14th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which focuses more on safety, measuring, dyeing techniques, pH, different classes of dye and fiber choice. There is loads of fun and learning in this class and you will be working hard!

Both classes are excellent opportunities to explore your creativity, work with color and fiber, and do some dyeing without making a mess at your home. I hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me about the content of the class, or contact City Knitting with questions about purchasing fiber! Thanks!

I am also teaching a class at Michigan Fiber Festival in August at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. The class is called "Silks and Dyeing" and it is being held on Thursday, August 14th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It will focus on dyeing (safety, color mixing, etc.) and then the hands-on portion will be to use various methods to dye silk scarves - low-water immersion, tie-dye, embedding objects, resists, etc. More information about the class can be found here. The workshop registration form can be found here. I hope to see you there!

Here are some pictures of yarns recently delivered to City Knitting last week...

Artichoke in "Texas" yarn - this has 245 yards in a 4-ounce skein

This is Ganesha in Texas:

Black Sheep For Evah!

2008-05-06T17:15:00.015-04:00

Wow, the weekend of April 26th is one that will be remembered for a long time. I was the lucky guest of the Black Sheep Knitters Guild, based in Berkley, MI, for their annual retreat. They had contacted me at the beginning of 2008 to ask me to teach a dyeing class for their retreat being held at the Hankerd Inn in Pleasant Lake, MI, and I accepted.

What an awesome group! There were 13 class participants, all so willing to try new techniques, new colors, to help set-up and clean up, and to provide enthusiasm! I thought it was one of those cliches that teachers use about "learning as much from the students as they learn from me..." Well, it's true. I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their thoughts, feedback, and ideas for this class, as well as information that will help me develop other classes as well. And a true, heart-felt thank you to the Black Sheep Knitter's Guild for their friendship, most especially.

Highlight include, but are not limited to:
The colors... Harriet made the reddest red ever - and I am sure this will look gorgeous on her.

Kim came up with a marvelous color, which was named "Black Sheep For Evah!" Its a combination of eggplant, teal, and lime, and it really suits the concept of a Black Sheep - definitely a color developed "outside of the box!"

LindaLuFiber - well, she dyed and dyed and dyed. Check out her blog, she's written about the retreat three times.

Kate made some great skeins of yarn inspired by her cottage and its moss and lichens. Her inspirations were amazing and her results were spot-on. Well done Kate!

Cheryl was inspired to make watermelon striping socks, combining some great bright greens and a light magenta that she dotted with black. Her color choices were quite amazing.

Here are more pictures, in no particular order

Stacy, Rhys, and Linda D getting started.

Gorgeous drying in the sun.

Thank you so much to Tanya, Kate, Kim, Cheryl, Stacy, Barb, Judith, Linda D., Linda L., Rhys, Harriet, Suzanne, and Joan for being such excellent students and for providing feedback! I really appreciate your willingness to learn and your inspiration for future classes!

On Yarn and Dyeing

2008-03-16T19:39:00.010-04:00

Saturday was an amazing day. I taught my first hand dyeing class at City Knitting in Grand Rapids, and it was awesome. Why, you ask? Well, first the people who were in the class were pretty amazing in many respects. All were fearless in their exploration of color, intense in their desire to play, and uninhibited in their enthusiasm for fiber arts. So, what better group to have as students in teaching my first class. I am misty...

We were eight on the day, nine with me, and with many more shop customers coming in to peek. I can't thank Kat, Lisa, Geri, Jo, Joan, Sam, Jenna, and Lauren enough for their time and energy in being such amazing students for a first class. Their color ideas were very adventurous and sophisticated, and they had definite ideas about how they wanted to proceed. They also had great taste in fiber, choosing some terrific yarns and loose fibers to work with.

A big thanks as well to Lorilee and her great staff at City Knitting. I can't wait to do it again. Thanks for promoting the class, and many, many thanks for your support over the past three years, and for your enthusiasm about Yarn Hollow.

Enough talk, onto the gorgeousness:

The class from back left: Sam, Jo, Lauren, Geri, me, Kat, Jenna, Lisa, and Joan in front.

Kat's alpaca twist, overdyed with turkey red, golden yellow, and other fiery colors.

Kat, Sam, Jo, and Lauren dyeing!

Lisa and Jenna working hard.

Geri and Kat.

Last Weekend's Castle Farms Fiber Festival and Upcoming Shows!

2007-07-30T16:38:00.000-04:00

Hi there fiber lovers! Here's a quote from Ghandi about spinning that you might find interesting...

"I believe that the yarn we spin is capable of mending the broken warp and woof of our life. "

This is from "Mind of Mahatma Gandhi" (Ed. Prabhu & Rao), 3rd Edn., 1968. I found the quote on this website: http://www.mkgandhi.org/index.htm. With this in mind, I am going to sit an my wheel for a little bit tonight and spin some samples of Blue Faced Leicester. Not that either my warp or woof are broken, but it couldn't hurt, might help. And I'll get some samples to boot!

City Knitting is having Sockfest again! Go check it out! They have several great patterns available, including some from the famous Cookie A. If you bring a sample sock in for display, you get a coupon for 30% off a subsequent sock yarn purchase. The display of knitted socks is awesome! There are some great knitters out there. They also have two varieties of Yarn Hollow sock yarn available, a Wool/Bamboo/Nylon blend and a Cotton/Bamboo/Nylon blend. The cotton/bamboo blend had some really wild, bright colors, and the yarn has a lot of bounce from the elastic nylon. Go check it out!

This weekend past was the Fiber Festival at Castle Farms, in beautiful Chalevoix, MI. It was an awesome event. Many kudos to Joan Hoover from Heritage Spinning and Weaving in Lake Orion, MI and her friends and volunteers who put on an excellent show in a stellar venue.

Thank you to everyone who came to my booth to talk fiber, purchase fiber or fiber-related goods, and thank you to all the wonderful and friendly vendors, too. It was a great weekend!

For you fiber lovers who hadn't been able to make it to the Fiber Festival at Castle Farms, here are some other fiber events in the midwest so you can get your fix.

A mere three weeks (really, only 18 days and trust me, I am counting!) from now, Michigan Fiber Festival will be running at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. Don't miss it! This is one of the biggest and best festivals - over 150 vendors in four buildings and in tents outside, numerous interesting classes from local and national instructors, great demonstrations, raffles, etc. The dates of the festival are Saturday, August 18, and Sunday, August 19. My booth will be in the red barn, space D13. Please come and see me and see what new things are available. I will have loads of sock yarn, kits, worsted weight yarn, lots of rovings, tops, silks for felting, and other goodies.

Norther Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival is on Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 39th at the Ogemaw County Fairgrounds outside West Branch, MI. This is a nice festival with great, friendly organizers and vendors, and beautiful scenery. I'll be there! Stop by!
Other Festivals

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival - it is supposed to be very good! The dates are September 7, 8, and 9th. There are going to be some great vendors there!

S.O.A.R. is at the Shanty Creek resort at Bellaire, MI this year. This is an event not-to-be-missed! Check out the workshops and times for the Spinner's Market. The dates are October 7th through October 14th.

There's a new festival happening at the end of October in Ann Arbor, MI. Once I get more details, I will share.

I will try to get some pictures posted - I mean, seriously, do you really read this blog for my inspirational words? No! You are here for the colors! So I'll get at it this week...promise.

Targee X Roving Spun and Knitted

2007-03-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Sarah W. of Ellsworth, ME (one of the most beautiful places around), shared pictures of her hand-spun and hand-knit Targhee X Roving that she bought from my etsy shop. Wow! I think she's come up with a new name for this color. I was calling it "OCC" for Olive, Caramel, and Clay - the dye colors used. Her color name, "Deep Autumn" is much more evocative. Thanks, Sarah! It's such a rush to see what people create!

(Sarah's knitted swatch)

New Colors, New Projects

2007-03-19T10:49:00.000-04:00

(Let's start with some color... "Seattle" in Wool/Mohair yarn...)

Hi there! Thanks for checking out my blog! It's been busy busy busy since my last blog post, and that's great!

Thanks to all my customers and friends for all your support in 2006 and continuing into 2007!

Check out my etsy shop for hand-dyed rovings, tops, and yarns: www.yarnhollow.etsy.com. It's updated at least once a week, (which is more than I can say for this blog...)

New and Interesting...
If you are in West Michigan and concerned about your food, where it comes from, how it is grown, check out the Winter Farmer's Market and Food, Farming, Health, Education & Native Culture Film Festival at the Wealthy Street Theater on alternate Wednesday nights. This is a great opportunity to see films about organic farming, food, agriculture, health, and Native culture. The next film and market is on Wednesday, March 28th at 7:00 p.m., with the Winter Farmer's Market beginning at 6:00 p.m. The market is a great way to get fresh eggs, hydroponic greens, books, and other farm-related products during the winter, when you are pining to go to the summer farmer's markets. I will be there with Targhee X rovings from Paul and Nancy Jones Kaiser's farm (Agriculture and Health Alive), knitted and crocheted goods, and yarns. See you there!

Rovings, Tops, Colors!
Yes, this is what you're really after. Here are some new colors and new fibers and tops!
A new color... I did this in bamboo and cotton yarn, and a pile of super-bulky yarns for a weaving project too. The fiber displayed is an alpaca roving, processed at Zeilinger Wool Mill in Frankenmuth, MI.

This is a roving from Paul and Nancy Jones Kaisers' farm, dyed in "Helter Skelter" colorway. It's a little light on the olive, but I still love the roving. The rovings from their farm are such high quality, lofty, soft, strong. Excellent for worsted spinning.

This is another Targhee X roving, dyed in four really cool colors. I haven't named this color yet; still looking for inspiration on a name. Something to do with jewels, I think.

I am working on organizing my colorway pictures to get them posted on my website, too. That should be done this week...

More later everyone! Thanks a million for checking out the blog!