A Life of Colour

In the garage.

Perhaps you've wondered where I do all my dyeing or maybe you haven't? Nonetheless, I thought it'd be fun to give you a view of where I work from the outside looking in. I'd love to show you the inside where I do the actual work but since it's in a huge state of disarray I'll spare you the messy photos for now.

 

And the window there on the side of the garage? It oftentimes gets quite steamy! I sometimes wonder what the neighbours think as they're walking by - lots of them do as we're also on the corner of the street. Most times the garage door will be slightly open to allow air and circulation to go through the garage.

Our garage is insulated but when winter rolls around it becomes quite interesting to stay warm enough in there when the winds are blustery and swirling around outside at -20C. For the most part it's not too bad because once the steam gets going, the garage does warm up to a bearable level. Summer is the worst time for me as I tend to wilt in the heat so on those really hot and muggy days I can be seen in there with sweat dripping down my brow. Whether it's hot or cold out I still have to wear my respirator - in the summer months it makes it really extra hot to breathe and in the winter it keeps me warm enough to bear the cold weather around me. Thankfully we live in Southern Ontario where the temperatures are mostly temperate compared to the rest of the province. This winter, in particular, has been very nice so far and I'm hoping to only have a very cold couple of weeks.

So there you have it, a view of where I work from the outside. I thought it'd be fun to share since some of you may wonder where I actually do my work. Stay tuned for further installments. I may even show you the garage workspace if I can get it cleaned up enough.

Now I'm off to get the dye pots going and to steam up that garage a little today. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Baby surprise jacket.

I've been a very very bad knitter these past few years as I only seem to have time for knitting up socks after I've spent the day dyeing yarns. In an effort to remedy that tendency I decided to knit up a baby sweater since jumping full-blown into an adult sweater freaked me out a little...there's some techniques I'm a little rusty on and a baby jacket would be perfect to re-hone those skills! Looking around Rav, I found the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman which was originally written in 1968. For some reason it's taken me 41 years to find out about it...LOL  There's over 9000+ projects on the go right now for this project on Rav. Wow! I feel like I've been living in a hole somewhere because I really had no idea just how popular this adorable baby jacket is.

 

So I've cast on using Pelusa in the Mocha Mist colourway and so far, so good. I, of course, did mess up already on the cuff increases but that's okay, like any good knitter who doesn't want to rip back, I just adjusted to the error and am happily knitting along still. I'm hoping it won't look too wonky...I was but 4 rows off the right row for the increases.

I'm hoping the project will take 2 skeins of Pelusa. Isn't it cute how the brown is going from dark to lighter to white? I like how it's knitting up so far and I'm anxious to see how it finishes.

More details for the project can be found on Rav. I must say it does feel good to be knitting something other than socks for a change! Once I master a baby jacket, I think I may move onto an adult garment. We shall see!

I used to knit sweaters without too much trouble so I really should get back into that habit don't you think? Slowly but surely!

Fall reds.

I love it when Fall rolls around because if you know me even just a little bit or have been following my blog for awhile, you will know reds are my all-time favourite colours to work with and when the seasons change, the reds outside abound and are totally intriguing to look at.

First up is our Japanese maple just outside the front of our house. Look at those gorgeous reds bordering on purples! Lovely.

And just around the street side of our house is this lovely little plant. No idea what it's called but the bright pink red is fabulous! Most of the leaves have fallen off already.

And these two plants...both are exactly the same but are showing off reds in such a different way. Gorgeous!

Has your Fall season been unseasonably warm? It's been hitting double digits here in Southern Ontario for the entire month of October with no signs of it letting up. It's so warm out there I was able to just walk outside wearing a t-shirt and snap these photos. Sure hope this doesn't mean winter is going to hit us with a vengeance!

Tottering cables.

Have you seen Anne's new Tottering Cables sock pattern knit up in Squooshy? If not, drop on by and take a gander...she has created a gorgeous pattern and if you own any Squooshy in your stash or would like the same colourway, we have the colourway that Anne used in stock as well as several other colourways which you may enjoy for this lovely pattern.

Gorgeous pattern isn't it?  A lovely man sock too!  If you'd like to purchase the pattern directly, click here.  Enjoy!

Decadence.

Do you have a yarn that you consider truly decadent? I was reminded of one that I really enjoy dyeing the other day when I threw a few CashSilk fingering yarns into the dye pot. This yarn is so gorgeous. It takes dye really well and expresses the colour in a way that very few yarns can rival. And on top of that, it smells delicious. It's hard to explain but there's a faint silk smell to this yarn that's lovely and combined with the cashmere, it is the most pleasant yarn to dye for the nose too. So is that what is truly decadent then? Takes dye like a dream, smells lovely, gorgeous to look at and reflects colours amazingly well.

Speaking of decadent, Anne of Knitspot.com and I will be working together for Yarn4Socks.com's sock club in December and from my end of the collaboration, I will be dyeing up my Serenity Sock Yarn base (the one with cashmere!) in a colourway that will reflect the element of fire. And if you have been following me for awhile, you will also know that red is my ultimate all-time favourite colour to dye so this is one colourway I'm really looking forward to. Anne and I have come up with some ideas about red along with a couple of other colours to represent the element of fire and if you have followed Anne's patterns at all, I'm really excited to see what she comes up with...she's a genius when it comes to patterns! So hop on over and join the sock club for December if you'd like to see what Anne and I come up with. It will definitely be a treat for your feet!

Also just replenished is our lovely single-ply superwash yarn called Pelusa. This is a lovely single-ply superwash merino yarn that's perfect for scarves, cowls, mittens or even sweaters! We have quite a few decadent colourways in stock now if you care to pop on by and visit the store!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Fleece Festival.

Today Mr. Zen and I made a quick trip out to the Woodstock Fleece Festival. When we got there, it was a little bit late and it seemed like the event was winding down for the day, however, I did manage to snap a few pictures. The best part was seeing an alpaca up close! For some reason I thought they were bigger...not sure why exactly either. Very cute that's for sure and this one was making little noises at a young girl who was standing just outside its cage. Not sure what that was about but it was adorable.

And of course there were these two cuties snuggled up with each other...I had hoped to get their faces but the day was a bit chilly with the wind blowing so they were definitely keeping warm together. So cute!

Inside the festival were about 35 vendors and lots of lovely stuff to look at. Definitely a great way to spend a Saturday since they also had some workshops throughout the day. I'm hoping to be a vendor at the show in 2010 if I can fit the day into my schedule!