Snowy Snowy day

The snow has been falling since around 3am...it is over a 13 inches deep now. The snow plows just finished in front of our house, it is now 1:10pm. The snow has finally slowed its descent, allowing for a quick pathway cleaning, before it starts up again.

Yesterday was a grey day, brightened by the hand dying of some merino wool. I had cooked red beets for dinner the night before, and had second thoughts about tossing the cooking water out. The water had not been treated with salt, or butter. It was bright red. I poured a bit of vinegar in the red water, and dunked in some un-dyed dampened merino wool roving, and left it over night in the pot. The next day, I brought it up to a simmer, let it cook for 30 minutes. There was still red water in the pan, the wool was bright pink in spots and looked dark red in other places. I removed the wool and placed it in a sink of hot water. The color was washing out. I figured, "oh, well a good try"...but not all the color was washing out. I soaked and rinsed the wool, until the rinsing water was clear, and I was left with the most beautiful peachy salmon colored roving. It is mottled with lights and darks. I have only 3oz. But it is gorgeous. See!

I haven't got a clue how the color will age or wear...but it will be fun learning.

Stay warm!

Thanks to those that commented on my January Socks

Thanks to all of you posted comments on my January socks for the SAM 5 KAL. I used Sublime in a Cashmere/silk/wool blend. It is a DK weight. It does halo a bit, but after washing and blocking, the socks looked wonderful, the halo was nearly gone, on the dark blue socks...I did another pair in the same yarn in pink, that did not fair so well. The halo effect stayed after washing. Still the socks were soft, warm and yummy.
The socks were loved by my Father-in-Law.
Thank you again for all the nice posts. Stay warm and keep your fingers nimble :)

Stash Enhancement: The Love of Fiber!

My favorite yarn store (LYS) The Unraveled Sheep in Sandy, Utah is two years old. The proprietress is a sweet helpful woman named Verla. She is having a special sale, in celebration of her shops’ birthday. Of course I was there 10 minutes after the door was opened…I got off pretty easy I spent just over $100.00, and got enough yarn for 11 pairs of socks, two hats and a skinny scarf. Plus something that was just pretty to my eye, perhaps for mittens. All for next Christmas...and a birthday or two. Just some of the goodies are pictured above.