The bottom one is inspired by dandelions. I am thinking of submitting it to the Yarn Museum Flora gallery if I get it spun in time.

Even though I have deprived you of the opportunity to shop for roving, if you really want to do some shopping, I have somewhere to send you. Threadless.
Hurry over there cause they are having a $10 sale.

You might like this sheepy one:

and my nerdy friends might like this one:

I like the subtle use of a unicorn…

And my students should like this one:

It would have helped them identify the 8 planets in the solar system for their midterm exam. Yes, college students in a class called “the Planets” missed that question.

The big ticket item in my shop right now is my Atari 2600 themed altoid tin.

complete with silver beads for levers and wood grain interior

I am wickedly proud of it. The price is steep, but there was just too much hand stitching in there…. There is also a tin just for SF Bay area commuters.

The button-maker (named Stampy) was put to work making treats for knitters

and moustache lovers.

There is also some roving and yarn, but I have been having a heck of a time trying to get good photos of it. Here are just a few:

I don’t know if I will be able to let this one go

see anything you like? If you buy anything leave a comment saying you are one of my blog readers and I will throw in something special for you.

It was fun to watch the color change as I knit, and I kept wondering why i never thought of turning this bright yarn into a hat before. I have never knit on US 15 needles before; they are by far the biggest I have ever used. I rarely use bulky yarn, and I have never used it doubled. Everything about the hat just seemed so big. So i decided to make my embellishment a tiny hat. It is the opposite of the big hat in every way I could think of. It has no color, is fuzzy (knit in mohair), and was done in tiny needles. It has ribbing and decreases just like the big hat.

I had just enough yarn to keep me sweating that I might run out, but I made it. It fits my normal-sized head, but I don’t know how much i will wear it since I am not crazy about the point at the top.

I added some more halloween and autumn sock yarns to the shop. From left to right: Unnamed red skein that refuses to be photographed accurately (leave a blog comment if you might want this one), Autumn leaves (this one is a beaut), two skeins of Jack-o-lantern, and 2 skeins of candy corn. I made these a long time ago, but spent many days waiting on the sun to shine when I was at home to be able to take a picture of them.
Remember, dear blog readers, that I will give you free shipping if you say “I read your blog” in the comments of your etsy purchase (then wait for an invoice from me).

In addition to a bunch of sock yarn, I made a set of stitch markers that I think would be pretty handy for sock knitters. Recycling the text I used for the item description… Every time I finish I sock, I have to drag out a book or a computer to look up how to do the stinking toe graft. I am incapable of memorizing the kitchener stitch. So I have put it in a form that will stick with my socks – Stitch markers!

I usually have a few stitch markers involved in my sock knitting so I made 4 markers, each displaying brief instructions for the 4 steps of the kitchener stitch. Now I will have the directions on my sock by the time I get to the toe! The stitch marker holder has a tag reminding me of the set-up for the beginning of the graft, and now as long as i keep them in order I am set.

Courtesy of Flagrant Disregard, here is a mosaic of some of the items I added to my shop.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and it has the best holiday color scheme, so it seemed appropriate to make some Halloween-inspired sock yarns. get them now and in the spirit of socktober fest you can have them done by the end of the month!

I have an old roaster tray that I use for dying. i lined it with foil and made two foil trays to separate it into two parts. I soaked my yarn in some water and vinegar, rang it out a little bit, and put it in the trays. then i added the dye. next, I covered the roaster pan with saran wrap and sealed it with tape – the more like a greeenhouse, the better. I have collected several candy thermometers at garage sales, so I decided to dedicate one to to dyeing and I put that through the saran wrap so I could have an idea of how hot it would get inside.

I watched the temperature climb about 10 degrees every 15 minutes, and top off at about 120 F. i left it out there for several hours (maybe 3-4?) until the all the dye had been absorbed from the solution.

excuse the crappy camera-phone picture

I had a little dye leftover so I thought I would do one more skein to use up the dye. Only, the sun had moved to the other side of my apartment building and there was no more sun on my fire escape. you know how knit bloggers talk about how their neighbors must think they are crazy because they see them taking pictures of yarn outside… well, here is where I have them beat. I took my yarn to the hottest place I could think of. My car. Parked in the rock-star space right in front of my apartment building, i thought I could make a quick dash there without getting the neighbors attention. Wrong. i ran into two of them on my way to my car with a roaster full of yarn and then started taking pictures of it.

Wow! this really did the job. 2 hours later when I went to get the yarn out, the handles of the roaster were so hot i had to use oven mitts! the thermometer read 145 degrees. sweet.

I am pretty happy with how the yarn looks so far. Usually i use an immersion technique, not a paint on the dye technique, so there are some flaws in the first batch. I didn’t really work the dye through the yarn, and some of the yarn in the middle has white patches. i think will look nice in the end though. Look for dry, reskeined yarn photos soon!

Isn’t it lovely?! It is made from Louet Gems Pearl which I have never used, so I am excited to try knitting it up. My package also included a yummy smelling soap and some lovely mohair bland Fiesta Yarn. Another new yarn to try! Thanks Pal!!

I took the day off today and am busy cooking up deliciousness for a 4th of July Beach BBQ tomorrow. I am baking some beans and making cucumber salad. Already chilling in the freezer is a batch of Aunt Weasies Bourbon Slushies (recipe below for those that are interested). I will use this as my number one defense against the beach sun and heat, which in northern California is not that bad. But last year it kicked my butt. what can I say, i am a wuss.

Click “more” for slushie recipe

Aunt Weasie’s Bourbon Slushies

2 cups boiling water
4 tea bags
2 cups sugar

combine and let steep a bit, then take out tea bags and add

12 oz. frozen OJ concentrate
6 oz. frozen lemonade
2 cups bourbon
7 cups water

put in a large plastic container and freeze overnight. Remember that
it will expand a little, make sure it has room to do so. Also remember that if you are using an insulated drink container, make sure to take the lid OFF before you put it in the freezer. otherwise you will be insulating your drink from the cold of the freezer (not that I have ever done this).

Hint: when I’m drinking them straight out of the freezer, I sometimes
use one cup less water to make them stronger and slushier (otherwise
you sometimes have to let them thaw a little). For taking them
somewhere, though, I’d definitely do the full dilution, they’ll
freeze better.

And recently I made a few dye-o-rama stitch markers. they will look so cute when i am knitting up my dye-o-rama yarn! (I also stuck a few in my shop).

(photo from flickr)I made a skein that I am calling Poppysocks
because i really need more sock yarn.