2018: In Review

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I don’t always believe in arbitrary markers of time, but I do enjoy thinking about the year end around this time — it’s a good space to reflect, summarize, and make plans. A lot has happened this year: I made a Kickstarter, started natural dyeing experiments, published my first knitting pattern, bought way too much yarn, knit up a storm, and started sewing more of my own clothes. Here’s a list of my highlights for 2018.

I launched a Kickstarter to help fund my experiments in learning natural dyeing, and I had so much fun making different color combinations and seeing how different fabrics dyed up. For this whole Kickstarter rewards batch, I used liquid natural dyes from Botanical Colors.

For my last project before I learned continental-style knitting, I made a Whippet Cardigan, still one of my favorite projects ever.

My first continental knit project was La Crau by Melanie Berg, which was perfect for it - rows and rows of garter stitch and the occasional slipped stitch, no purling required! It was ridiculously slow going for the first bit, but I got speedier as I got more comfortable with the new configuration of my fingers.

I experimented with bundle dyeing, with mixed results — definitely something I’d love to practice more. I also started creating my own dyes using plants (rosemary, sage, pomegranate skins, pine cones), and am excited to see what else I can use to create new colors.

I pieced the top of a half-square-triangle quilt, dyed with my Botanical Colors dyes (indigo, madder, cutch, and pomegranate+iron).

I decided to un-stitch and then kitchener the bottom of my Tegna sweater after changing my mind about colors halfway through — another experiment that turned out really well and a new staple in my wardrobe.

I went to Iceland and bought all of the Icelandic yarn, basked in the unfathomable landscape, and soaked in as many hot springs as I could.

I took a trip to the Taos Wool and Fiber Festival, and while I was there had the rare pleasure of doing some tea-dyeing experiments with a dear friend.

I dyed a last few batches of yarn before the new year, and immediately wound up three skeins to work on while I’m on vacation.

And I knitted a Zweig Sweater, which I blocked immediately (a rarity for me) and haven’t worn yet, but which I’m sure will become another wardrobe staple.

Well, it’s certainly been a year, and that’s only the fiber side of it! I’m excited to see what next year brings, but just as excited to take a break and knit mindlessly on my Weekender Sweater for a bit.

Yarn, Tea, Mason Jars, and Hot Water

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I went to the Taos Wool Festival this weekend, and in between buying all the yarn and seeing the sights, my friend and I thought it would be fun to try some dyeing experiments while we were in the same location. I bought a variety of bare yarns from Knit Picks and mordanted them ahead of time, then one evening we gathered up some quart-sized mason jars, snuck into the B&B’s kitchen to boil some water, and filled everything up with yarn, tea, and hot water.

A line of six mason jars filled with yarn and tea in a dimly lit room in Taos, New Mexico.

We learned that quart size mason jars are not really big enough for 100g of yarn, especially if that 100g of yarn is a very fluffy single ply worsted.

A diagonal view of the same six mason jars filled with yarn and tea, in varying states of dye. One mason jar has some purple dye creeping up the side, and another has a toffee/brown color starting to expand.

We also discovered that the best part is watching the color seep into the yarn from the tea bags, and that Hibiscus tea is definitely our favorite for watching the color change.

A close-up of one mason jar full of yarn and hibiscus tea, with some of the yarn still white and some of it a light lavender purple.

Next up? Well, when these dry I’ll take more pictures, and next time I want to see if brewing the tea before adding the yarn changes the way it dyes up. Plus, I’ll probably pick a container with more space!