From the Dyepot - Hard Candy

This week's theme is Hard Candy! I was inspired by my first skein, which I just dyed because I wanted something pink. In trying to discover its name, hard candy flitted through my mind, and I thought, "That's it!" Let's make a trio.

Here's the one that started it all - Watermelon


Then - Green Apple


And, finally - Lemon



These "candies" will be available in our shop tomorrow!

Nightmare on String Street Shawl

This shawl is thusly named due to the insane amount of strings on the back that had to be woven in. I had hoped to wait to weave the ends in until after I had blocked the shawl, but could not take the strings everywhere. Thank goodness I was weaving in as I went, or otherwise I would have really hated finishing this shawl at the end. Just imagine: two ends per fan(module), plus two for each half module at the top and two ends for the garter stitch edge. That's easily 100 ends! NIGHTMARE!!!


Now, in the pattern's defense, I could have done things a bit differently by knitting diagonal columns and sewing those columns together. However, I wanted to be able to manipulate the colors and put them where I wanted them to go, instead of waiting to see where they fell on their own. I should have just done it the other way.....


As much as I really loathed this shawl, and as much as this shawl almost killed the joy of knitting for me, I still learned a few things from it that were somewhat surprising. For instance, I have surprising discipline when it comes to finishing knitting projects. Now, don't get me wrong, it may take me years to do it, but, by golly, I will get it done! Also, I found out that I do like wide shallow shawls just as much as I like wide and deep shawls. I guess as long as it's wide, I like it!


This is the Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl by Gail Tanquary using Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in the colorway Spring Blossom. The yarn worked out pretty well, sometimes it was a bit splitty due to being single ply. I'm not sure what will happen to the ball and some I have left over. I don't want to look at it right now. I am so relieved to have this shawl done. It was a great chip on my shoulder; now I am free and back to knitting with glee!!

From the Dyepot - Tilt-Shifted Van Gogh

Now that the newest Farina is a bit more independent and regulated, I have finally been able to start dyeing yarn again!! I have missed this so much, as it is a great creative outlet for me. I have always loved painting, but I am no good at it; dyeing yarn combines two art loves of mine - knitting and painting. What could be better?!

I recently chanced upon my latest inspiration for my dye-works while searching for inspiration for a project involving my barren living room wall. Artcyclopedia featured an article on tilt-shifting pieces of work by Vincent van Gogh. It was stunning to see those vibrant paintings manipulated in a way that made one's eyes see them anew. I definitely recommend checking it out!

Here are the three paintings that called to me the most:

Starry Night on the Rhone





Snow-Covered Field with a Harrow




Landscape at Auvers after the Rain




These will all be available in our shop later today!

Guess What I Got Today!!

A new shipment of yarn!!!

Here's the replenishment of the original sock yarn PeachesNPurls carries.

I'm so excited about working with this yarn more. In fact, I am so excited that I've already dyed a skein. It's baking in my oven as I am writing this. I can't wait to show it to you!

And here's the new line making an entry.

I'm thinking of calling it Blue-te-FuL. What do you think? It's 4-ply Superwash BFL (75%) and nylon (25%).

"I Am So Excited About This" Shawl

I have finally gotten the time and energy to sit and write about my long-completed shawl. (Previous post concerning this same shawl can be found here.) I know, I know; you're probably wondering, "How much energy does it take to sit at a computer and mash some buttons?" But, let me tell you, sitting down to "mash some buttons" can be quite time-consuming and exhausting when you have three little ones who always wait until you've sat down and typed one letter to start coloring on the walls, or throwing toys, or screaming, or pooping in their pants, or having to go potty, or, or, or....and in half-an-hour's time you still haven't formed a coherent sentence on the screen. Needless to say, it is a daunting experience. Well, not today!! Today, I have absconded with my husband's laptop where I can sit and watch my children, and they know I'm watching, so they are little angels now. It's so lovely.

Anyhow, onto the shawl.

The thing I love the most about this shawl is that you can turn it to the wrong-side, and have no idea what is going on in the front. Just look at this:


Who would think that boring lump would have all this going on in the front?


This shawl was fun for me to knit, since it was like knitting a shawl backwards for me. You get the hump at the beginning with the long rows, but the top just flies by! However, I was disappointed by the very top of the shawl where it is ended. There is a divot in mine; I'm not sure if I was supposed to sew it together, or what. I am hoping that practice will make perfect in the instance. I'm sure I will come up with something as I continue to go along with shawls.

One thing I have learned from this shawl is that I am a lover of big shawls. I love to wrap myself up in them. There is no wrapping up with this shawl, unless I only wrap it around my neck. So, lesson learned; I am sure I will still use it, and I still have enough yarn left over to make myself a pair of socks or fingerless gloves! All the possibilities...

Stella Jane

A recently finished project:



This is Stella, designed by Georgie Hallam.



The yarn is Stella by Omega (though the label says the brand is Tamm); purchased at Hobby Lobby for $5! It only took one skein to make what you see here. I am super impressed with that! You can't beat a hand-knit cardigan for your little girl for $5!

I made one modification on this cardigan: I made the eyelet rows carry across the back, which I probably will not do on the following two I am going to knit.

"Not Sure What I Am Calling This" Shawl

This is the Cobble Shawl by Kitman Figueroa. So far it hasn't quite spoken to me as far as naming it. I've been uninspired with names, lately. I'm knitting it with Stricken Smitten's Smitten Merino Nylon Twist in the Espresso Glazed Rose colorway. The yarn is nice and smooshy; the colors are great! I will definitely be purchasing more when I have the excuse to! I am alternating between two skeins and getting a bit more striping than I was expecting, but I still don't think it is too noticeable.

I have modified the pattern a little bit. In the cobble sections I have gone with seed stitch instead of garter stitch. And I have changed the pattern as written when the decreases get close to the cabled stockinette stitches. The designer has you stop cabling the stitch once it gets close to the decrease side; it is just knitted until the decreases reach it. I didn't like the way this turned out (shown in pic below). It ended up warping the stitch line a bit, and it wasn't pleasing to my eye. So, I changed it.



What I ended up doing once the stockinette stitch got close to a decrease I would just continue cabling as the pattern would dictate if not for the decreases. When it came time that I would basically be cabling into a decrease I did just that. I would switch the two stitches without actually knitting them, knit the decrease, and continue on in pattern. This continued the pattern quite nicely, I think.


I can understand why the designer didn't bother putting this into her pattern. Quite frankly it would be a big pain in the rear to try to word out. So, it doesn't detract from the quality of the pattern for me. It's just that I can sometimes be picky about my knitting.