Process (1st step)

My plan is to crochet a granny square blanket. I want to use CotLin DK Yarn from KnitPicks and the first step is to choose the colors. I'm a visual person, I need to SEE how the colors look together. Remember that I don't know my gauge, or how many squares I'll need, or even if I'm going to crochet one or two rows with the same color. ; I grabbed the colored yarn photos from the KnitPicks site, and arranged them in a few squares. Each square represents a crochet row, other than the center that represents a granny square. ; The next step is to order one skein of each color, decide how I want it to look and how big I want it to be. Crochet one square, weigh the yarn, calculate how much I need, block it and make sure I like it. Order the yarn and crochet the blanket. ; Here are the colors I chose: 1. Swan • 2. Linen • 3. Cashew • 4. Moroccan Red • 5. Clementine • 6. Sprout • 7. Surf • 8. Sagebrush • 9. Crème Brulee. 

Sneak peek

My new design for a local yarn store, can't talk much about it at the moment, but will keep you posted. Between the lines is a wrap knit with the soft and smooth sugar cane yarn Ruca Solid by Araucanía.

New

New yarn, new ideas, new projects. ; The first yarn is Araucania Ruca Solid, DK / 8 ply, 263 yards (240 meters), 100 grams (3.53 ounces), 100% sugar cane in teal. The second yarn is 18/120NM silk, light fingering / 3 ply, 1,100 yards (1,006 meters), 150 grams (5.29 ounces), 100% silk in dark taupe.

Shana Tova

LineeSemplici (SimpleLines)

Isabel is busy translating my free patterns to Italian, thank you. You can find my patterns on the right column here on my blog, or on Ravelry. Happy knitting.

3 colors

3 different colors from 3 different sources. The inside circles are true to the colors I got. ; Yellow/green first row is heat dyeing with pomegranate peels. I followed these instructions. ; Pink second row is ice flowers dyeing with morning glory flowers from my back slope. ; Brown third row is solar dyeing with Japanese green maple leaves from my garden. ; I pre mordant the fabrics in three different ways, soy, vinegar and salt. You can find more details here.

Maglia in Italiano

Nae in Italian. Thank you to Isabel for the translation. ; Isabel told me that not many Italians read English, and asked to translate a few of my free patterns. ; Thank you to Vida for letting me use her beautiful photo.

Color making

These are the first results of my new Color Making experiments. ; The first 4 pictures are solar dyeing, here is what I did: I put 2 red succulent flowers in a glass jar and poured boiling water in. The jar was left in the sun for 3 days. I added 1/2 tsp vinegar and the fabric stripes. The fabric was left in the jar for 3 days. I used tap filtered water, and all the fabric was pre-mordant with water and soy. I love the pinkish color. ; The fern was boiled with 1/2 tsp of vinegar, than simmered for 45 minutes. I removed the fern and added the fabric stripes to the water. I simmered the fabric for 45 minutes, and left it there to cool over night. I used tap filtered water and aluminum + magnesium pot. All the fabric was pre-mordant with water and soy. ; The next step is to check the PH of the water, and get some washing soda to enhance greens in dyes.