Seabreeze Spinners

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I spun the Easter Egg Dye fiber and plied it with white wool/nylon (for strength).  The yarn was then hung with weight to dry.

I have wool and llama also drying:

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The thrift shop near my office had a sale (50 cents a box) on Easter Egg dye, so I loaded up. I first wet my fiber in a water bath with a little detergent and rinsed it with clear water. I filled custard cups with 3T each of white vinegar. (When I ran out of white, I used apple cider, amber, vinegar…seemed to work just fine.) I then added a dye tablet to each cutard cup (and a few Jack Daniels old fashioned glasses.) After the dye stopped fizzing, I added 1/2 cup of water and stirred. Then I plunged pieces of fiber into the various cups.

After the fiber had absorbed much of the dye, I started at one end lifting the fiber from the dye baths squeezing excess as I went. I scrolled the dyed fiber out on multi layers of paper toweling. I rolled the fiber up like a jelly roll and put it in the microwave. I “nuked” it on high for 1 minute, paused and repeated 2 times for a total of three minutes. I unrolled the paper toweling to reveal the finished fiber. I then rinsed the fiber and hung it to dry. Very little dye rinsed out; the microwave had set the dye. My plan is to spin the fiber once it dryes and knit it into socks, thus, the Hand Dyed Easter Socks … keep watching http//Seabreezespinners.com/ for more on this project. (The flowers are from my Valentine bouquet.)

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I finished the pair. I tried them on wet, so they’re a bit heavy. The hand carded fiber has more definition between the colors and the drum carded fiber has more subtle coloration shifts. Serendipity. Have put the pair in the “dryer” to air fluff to help the drying process. Hope I don’t end up with baby booties.

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I’ve finished one and have one to go. You’ll notice the missing strawberries … we ate the three ripe strawberries over lush vanilla ice cream. Does it get any better than that?

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I knit my first sock on huge needles (10 1/2) and it was a disaster, so … I ripped it out, reballed the yarn, and started over. I love the new sock, soon to be a pair. As you can see, it’s coming along. I used the Sock Wizard for perfect sizing. (Even my huge guaged socks were the right fit.) I have large (ladies size 10 1/2) feet but they are narrow. Men’s shoes and sock are too wide and ladies socks are always a bit small. What a luxury to have socks that fit. Seaweed is reported to have benefits for circulation so my tooties should be happy feet once I finish the socks.

Happy New Year !

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I’ve finally spun enough yarn to start my “Seaweed Socks”.  The socks are a wool/silk/seaweed blend.  The merino (fine wool) was dyed a soft green and aqua before blending and spinning.  Also enjoy my Florida garden.  Santa brought an Earth Box filled with strawberry plants and as you can see, my tomatoes are coming along.

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In correspondence, it was mentioned that although the socks were great, they were a bit short. They’re not, I’d just rolled them down and my photos were a dis-service to the knitter. Here are updated photos of my great new socks. I also included a photo of my tomatoes. No, it’s not snow or ice … it’s Seven Dust. The insects come south for the winter too.

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I had the most delightful eBay experience. I ordered hand knit wool socks from “The Potty Knitter” of Williamstown, Australia. See photos of my new, hand knit socks. Her knitting is flawless. She has all kinds of socks, scarves, and hats on her site and on eBay. Her site is http://thepottyknitter.com.au

The “potty” part is that she is a potter, as in ceramics, as well as a knitter. You can email her at angelikasmales@bigpond.com

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I’m planning to order another pair in bright colors. The socks were $39 Austrailian which is about $26 US.

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