Poppy's shawl is finished, and blocked and worn to school, so today there is that, I've bought some new yarn, and been making wool wash. The wool wash is part of this years drive to reduce our purchase and use of proprietary branded cleaning products, you know the sprays and the disposable wipes and all of that stuff advertised on tv as necessary to keep our houses clean. My Nana keep a clean house with pretty much soap and water, and we are trying to do the same. Finally - if you are in or near Dunedin, New Zealand, on the 14th of June (WWKIP day), pop on over to the back of the Meridian Mall between 2pm and 5pm for the more public than usual knitting in public of Take Back the Knit.
But first the shawl, its done, started June the 2nd all done by June the 9th, so a very fast knit, 7 days including the i-cord ties. Poppy is only 6 - so I imagine this would take a little longer for an adult, and I'd have to say those garter rows get longer, and loonger, and looonger as the shawl grows. For a larger shawl I'd have to add an more challenging edge or something to keep my interest up on those long rows. So now I'm knitting my 2nd twined mitten and then I'll let myself start something new and exiting.
And yarn, yes new store-bought yarn, the knitters study group is spending the June and July sessions on the EZ classic BSJ, with an added hood so appropriate yarn was needed. Why is it that even with a stash of several drawers full I never had the perfect yarn in the house for these study group projects?
I'm not sure which baby this is for - but given the number of baby things I've knit in the past few years, having a baby gift ready is a good plan. The yarn is a sport weight. Oddly this weight is known in unique NZ knit lingo as '5ply' - even thought it is 3 plies each of 2 ply twisted yarn (so a 6 ply) - how does that work? The colour choice was a little limited, once I rejected the baby blue, baby pink, baby green, baby lemon, and white, so I've gone with lavender and a dirty bone accent. It is Patons Bluebell crepe yarn super-wash - so perfect for baby things, and should give a nice newborn sized jacket.
And a jar of home made wool wash, all ready to wash wool. Made from Lux soap flakes, water, methylated spirits, and eucalyptus oil, it smells divine and dissolves easily in warm water. We even use it to remove extra dirty bits, the kinds kids put into knitwear and other garments, by rubbing it directly into the dirt before soaking the garment. There is something quite nice about using things that you know the ingredients of, no worries about if they are 'safe' to use or dangerous. I love this stuff, it has a firm jelly texture, and is fun to scoop out and use, almost like finger painting. Helps put the fun and play back into laundry.
There has been no more snow, and no frosts following last weeks snow, we do live in a mild winter climate. Still I'm told harsh frosts kill wasps in their nests - so I am hoping for some more frosts to come. Oddly it was the images of snow that resulted in comments on my last post, I do forget that the temperature soars across the oceans when ours dips.
Stella
But first the shawl, its done, started June the 2nd all done by June the 9th, so a very fast knit, 7 days including the i-cord ties. Poppy is only 6 - so I imagine this would take a little longer for an adult, and I'd have to say those garter rows get longer, and loonger, and looonger as the shawl grows. For a larger shawl I'd have to add an more challenging edge or something to keep my interest up on those long rows. So now I'm knitting my 2nd twined mitten and then I'll let myself start something new and exiting.
And yarn, yes new store-bought yarn, the knitters study group is spending the June and July sessions on the EZ classic BSJ, with an added hood so appropriate yarn was needed. Why is it that even with a stash of several drawers full I never had the perfect yarn in the house for these study group projects?
I'm not sure which baby this is for - but given the number of baby things I've knit in the past few years, having a baby gift ready is a good plan. The yarn is a sport weight. Oddly this weight is known in unique NZ knit lingo as '5ply' - even thought it is 3 plies each of 2 ply twisted yarn (so a 6 ply) - how does that work? The colour choice was a little limited, once I rejected the baby blue, baby pink, baby green, baby lemon, and white, so I've gone with lavender and a dirty bone accent. It is Patons Bluebell crepe yarn super-wash - so perfect for baby things, and should give a nice newborn sized jacket.
And a jar of home made wool wash, all ready to wash wool. Made from Lux soap flakes, water, methylated spirits, and eucalyptus oil, it smells divine and dissolves easily in warm water. We even use it to remove extra dirty bits, the kinds kids put into knitwear and other garments, by rubbing it directly into the dirt before soaking the garment. There is something quite nice about using things that you know the ingredients of, no worries about if they are 'safe' to use or dangerous. I love this stuff, it has a firm jelly texture, and is fun to scoop out and use, almost like finger painting. Helps put the fun and play back into laundry.
There has been no more snow, and no frosts following last weeks snow, we do live in a mild winter climate. Still I'm told harsh frosts kill wasps in their nests - so I am hoping for some more frosts to come. Oddly it was the images of snow that resulted in comments on my last post, I do forget that the temperature soars across the oceans when ours dips.
Stella
3 comments:
Ooh! Homemade wool wash -- what a great idea. Maybe you could share the proportions? (Of course, I'd have to find the equivalents, but that shouldn't be impossible, right?) And you could make it any scent you wanted, even (mmm...lavender...).
Poppy looks great in her shawl! I think I won't show that to Younger Daughter just now, lest I engender envy and desire :)
Meths? Really? Not every much surely? It does sound nice though I might give that a go.
Your shawl is very nice, I like the colours you chose
Stella - I want the wool wash recipes as well. What a good idea!
Post a Comment