Blogging Vaca and My Next Knitting Project!

Hey y'all! I had to take an unexpected vacation from my blog and actually most of life.. I had a bad reaction to a medication early last week that basically left me on the couch until this Tuesday. I've been so busy playing catch up with all the things that don't get done when I'm out of commission so blogging has just now made it to the top of my list.

I am about to start a knitting project that is going to be amazing if I can pull it off. I'm going to learn how to do color work AND short rows. Both of these have terrified me in the past. Like, put down the needles and back away from the yarn, terrified. But I have this friend, Alisha. She's pretty much like a sister, she's my own personal motivational speaker, sharer of inappropriate memes, and just a ton of fun to talk to. I'm so lucky to have her in my life that I will never tell her no when she asks me to knit something for her. *Side note: I have sent the knitting bug to bite her butt and it's all gonna be downhill from here. I kidnap added her to my favorite yarny facebook page and now she's ordering needles and yarn. Mwahahahaha.

What IS this scary and amazing pattern? Why, I'm so glad you asked! It's the Dreambird Shawl by Nadita Swings. . I actually might have bought yarn to make one for myself once I'm done with hers. *whistles innocently*

I am so excited to get started, the background will be amazingly soft and squishy Valley Yarns Charlemont in black. It's a Merino, Silk, Nylon blend that I just know is going to knit up beautifully. For the feathers, I worked with Kim from Kim Dyes Yarn to create a custom colorway in a Merino, Cashmere, Nylon blend. It is literally face smooshingly soft.  It starts out with a bright grassy green, moving to a kelly green, then to a light turquoise, then a royal blue, finishing up with a jewel tone purple. 

Kim was an absolute dream to work with. She was extremely communicative, we talked back and forth over a couple of days about what I was looking for, and her turnaround time was fantastic. I will definitely be ordering more from her. You should stop by her shop. Like, now. Well, after you finish reading.. ha!

I love when Alisha requests something knitted. I tend to stick to what I know when it comes to projects for myself. I really grow as a knitter when I'm knitting for her or my family because I'm less afraid to take on more challenging projects. Backward thinking, huh? 

The project was initially written for lace weight yarn. I have very few rules for myself when it comes to knitting. One is no lace weight. It's like knitting with hair. So, I'm going to use fingering weight and start out with size 2 needles. I'm using my Knitter's Pride Dreamz needles. Birch is a great wood for needles because it's slick enough that the yarn can flow well but not so slick that I'm going to lose all my stitches. I really dislike losing stitches, especially on a big project. It makes me say grown up words. Loudly.

Anyone taking any fiber chances out there? New fibers? New techniques? New patterns? Share them in the comments!

My New Travelers Notebook and How I Organize My Knitting

Okay, so I'm so freaking excited I can barely stand it. My bestie over at Lucky Clover Leather worked with me to custom create the most amazing FauxDori Travelers Notebook. It is a thing of beauty and sass. It fits me perfectly. I am shamelessly plugging all of Alisha's everything today because y'all NEED to get some Lishy in your life. Here is a quick pic I snapped yesterday between squealing fits.

Everything fits inside perfectly. She left the elastics untied so that I could make sure both of my Moleskines fit perfectly. It has a cute pen holder inside and it feels like heaven to touch. I might have rubbed on my face.... that's not weird, right? RIGHT?

Oh.... okay....

Soooo, if I haven't totally lost you, I want to talk about how I organize my knitting in my Bullet Journal and Book of Lists. I keep 2 books, it's easier for me to keep my lists separate from my daily and monthly spreads. Otherwise, I would lose all my lists between my dailies and my other notes.

In my book of lists, I have 2 pages devoted to knitting goals I want to accomplish this year. Things like learning to read charts (*dies*) and knitting a sweater for MYSELF. Whaaaa? Right, I've knitted 3 sweaters now and nary a one for myself. I want to learn how to knit short rows. This one is super important because I'm knitting a shawl for Alisha that is all short rows... I better get cracking on that one!



I have a list of WIPs, or works in progress, it shows how far along I've gotten. I started with Xs and realized I liked coloring in with brush markers. I might actually have more in progress but these are the ones I'm trying to finish up most quickly. There are always cast on projects lurking about trying to make it into my knitting rotation. I ignore those bad kids. I won't let myself start a new project until I get the two closest to completion finished. That's what I'm trying to do. You know, best laid plans and all.

Below, I try to make space for myself to knit into my dailies. Most times, I knit at night while we're watching whatever on Netflix. Right now we're watching Z Nation. It is probably the worst zombie show ever but we're anxiously awaiting the return of Walking Dead and Scandal so it'll do.


I've also changed up how I use my bujo. I used to just make a list and mark them off. It felt boring and really utilitarian. I'm a horrible artist/doodler/letterer so I'm filling in the empty space with thoughts about the day and things to get my mind and heart back on track. It feels more like ME. I know that the purpose of bullet journaling is to be clean and easy to read but I'm messy and emotive so this feels juuuuuuussssst right.



Share your blogs about layouts and knitting! And go talk to Alisha about your very own beauty!

Yarny Fun!

I've been an avid knitter for about 4 and a half years. There's just something magical to me about sticks and string becoming art. It's so good for anxiety. And then you have fun stuff to wear!

About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at dyeing my own yarn. I started with kool aid, it creates bright colors and is colorfast so it won't bleed. It will lose color over time if it's stored somewhere sunny but it's a great place to start. Food coloring works also but you have to add acid (white vinegar) to get the color to set. Here is a great tutorial for creating gradient dyed yarn. This is the tutorial I used to learn how to dye my own yarn!

There are a few rules. And I mean just a few. First, you must use 100% animal fibers, wool is the easiest and most cost effective when you are just starting out. There are ways to dye cottons and other fibers, I just don't do it. Second, you have to use the powdered mix, the squirty bottle kind has sugar in it and you don't want sticky yarn. Third, you have to have fun! Here are a couple of my first kool aid dyeing attempts!

After I became comfortable using kool aid, I invested a bit in some acid dyes. The brand of dye I use utilizes white vinegar as the acid that sets the colors. There are other brands of dye that use other sources of acid, I'm just most comfortable with the Jacquard dyes.

My recent dye job was a first for me, I used a sock blank. Basically, it's a pre-knitted piece that you dye and unravel to knit with. It's great for stripes and handpainting designs into the yarn. It starts out looking like the pic to the right. This yarn is going to be a yummy pair of socks!

Once you've dyed the blank, you unravel it and wind it into a hank or a ball. There is something insanely fun about unraveling a blank. I hate having to unravel (or, frog) my knitting though. The yarn is pretty kinked up when you unravel it so it's a good idea to wet it and let some of the kinks relax. I put a plastic coat hanger on the bottom of the hank to add a bit of extra weight.

I love the way the dye didn't completely take so that I have speckles of white in the purple. I haven't picked out the pattern to use yet but I can't wait to see how it knits up with the speckles and solid sections! I have a few (read: a bunch) of projects that need finishing first though. Sigh. There are simply too many awesome things that need to be knitted!

A little note for my local readers! We meet to knit and crochet at Shineworthy Tea the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month from noon to 2pm. The tea and company is fantastic so be sure to pop out and join us.

Don't know how to knit? No problem, we've got you covered. I was gifted some knitting needles and I have plenty of spare yarn to share!

Everyone go out and have some yarny fun today!! Do you knit or crochet? Dye your own yarn? Spin? All of it? Tell me about it in the comments!