Yarn Crush April 2016

If you have not already seen it then here it is:
my finished March Box project. I started and finished it in April, I hope I can say the same for the April box but in May.

So my April Box arrived!

What I am really excited about is I have never knit with beads before, so that should be a learning curve when I get started.







That being said, I am glad I did not get yellow yarn, although it is a stunning colour, it is not the best colour. That being said, the pastel, mint green, is not that great either. I like good strong colours, sorry to the dyer, but we all have our preferences. The silk linen blend although is very intriguing and I am really excited, as this is a blend I have never heard of and therefore never knit with, so again another plus.





So what did I do. I did a dying experiment. This was fascinating, learning about natural fibers and acid, man made fibers and bases. Etc. So my yarn was in a dye bath for about 2 hours, I did not want to over do it, and I wanted to see if I could darken it just slightly, as too dark you would loose the pattern of the leaves in the cape. It went rather well. See:

There is for sure a bit more blue in it, which helps me a lot in getting my head around it. I am really happy with my results, I do not think it will bleed anymore. I might rinse it again, but I have not decided for sure. I might wait until blocking and then just block on a towel.




I keep saying that my yarn surprise box is an experiment for me to get me out of my comfort zone, colour, and pattern wise, but sometimes it does help to inspire oneself if you do like the colour of the yarn you will be knitting with, as we spend a significant amount of time looking at the colour.
Anyway, wish me luck and keep your eyes posted for the results. Have a great weekend!
-A

Yarn Spinning (no bikes here)

So this month, I took a spinning class (yarn spinning).
We used a drop spindle, and fiber (sorry no picture) to create yarn! This was far more fun than I had anticipated, and I feel I made more yarn than I had thought possible using the techniques we learned. Is it a skill I will use again? Who knows, but it is now a skill that I have, so all in all a win for me.

On the left is the drop spindle and the beginnings of a second ball of yarn. The ball on the right is my first spinning attempt all ready to go waiting for class. And at the bottom in the middle, is 39 yards of 2 ply yarn, about 1 yard of 2 ply (plied differently) one ball that was turned into three ply, and a ball left over so that once I finish spinning what I am currently spinning I can have another ball of two ply! What am I going to make? That question is a complete mystery.