Spinning daze!

I have been in a spinning daze! I have been having so much fun and am so thankful that I have such great fibres in my fibre box [erm shelf... erm ok I admit it, it is a cupboard of fibre!]

So to celebrate the giveaway of my hand-dyed sock wool on Naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com , I have decided to offer a 10% discount on my handspun etsy listings. Here they are...

[if you are wanting one then send me a mail on dehningc@gmail.com ]


Crystal Beaded Silk Merino 2ply yarn
Sooo pretty! AND ITS SOLD!

I had such fun with this one, it is a beautiful blend of silk, 19,5 micron merino and crystal beads.Weight:51g [1,8oz]Length: approx 110m. The merino is hand dyed in a warm mushroom tone and the silk was hand dyed in a warm pink, blues with the odd bit of golden sun peeking in.The crystal beads are a soft pink - they tone in perfectly.The result is a subtle colour way with great character.I can also spin some more of the mushroom merino to be used with this skein.

INDIAN SUMMER:

52g of yummy chunky hand-spun.

Very soft and yummy!

19,5 micron hand-dyed Merino blended with a goober ball bought from Heartstringsbydee. Please pop by her shop and support her, she is so helpful and so kind!Here is a link to her shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5068697 her baby is having open heart surgery so every sale helps with unexpected expenses.

ESTY PRICE: USD 19

RAND PRICE: R 170

ALPACA MERINO BLEND

It is a VERY soft skein of alpaca/wool with sweet lil' petrol coloured beads.

Weight: 43g [[1,5 oz]

Length: approx 75m [appox 70 yards]

The Merino is super soft 19,5 micron South African that has been hand-spun and hand-dyed.The alpaca is From the Western Cape province of South Africa and has a low micron count [under 22 micron] . The brown is the fleeces natural colour.

This yarn is a treat!

Can be used for felting projects.

ESTY PRICE :USD17-00

RAND PRICE: R150-00

Knitted Poncho

I decided to use up all my bits of naturally dyed wool and knit a poncho, but alas, I still have a medium sized basket FULL of 5g-50g balls. :-)

So warm and wonderful! Im living in it..... erm..... while.... erm...... I spin enough black alpaca and coloured silk hankies to knit another one...

So watch this space.

:-)

Gills Jolly-good Lemon Cake!

Last week I visited a museum and ate a slice of delicious cake, The lady [Gill] who baked it happily gave me the recipe.

Im going to bake it tomorrow, want to bake with me?

Lemon Cake

6 0z sugar )
4 oz marg ) cream together
2 eggs, add to above with
grated rind of 1 lemon

6 oz flour )
1 tsp B.Powder ) Sieve together and add to above with
1/2 cup milk
Mix well. Put in a loaf tin, I line the bottom with a bit of brown paper, and use spray and cook.
Bake 350180 for about I hour.

Mix together 3 oz sugar and juice of 1 lemon, melt together. [mm I going to use citrus honey]
Pour over cooked cake while still hot.

UPDATE: 1 June
MYARTEMISMOON [awesome blog- so visit her] used ginger and lemongrass to make her syrup. oh yum! I guess we will have to make the cake again!

I'll post a picture, erm, well if there is any left!

Simple Sock Pattern

Hi everyone,

I have finally managed to get my sock pattern on line for you all. :-)

Linda pointed out errors to me and the correction is in red!

This pattern uses 1 x 100ball of my hand dyed sock wool.

Materials: 1oog ball sock wool
1 x Set of 2,5mm DPNS
1 x Set of 3mm DPNS [though I knit with 2.75mm DPNS]
1 x Blunt end Tapestry Needle for grafting
1 x Stitch holder [or needle will do..]

Abbreviations:
DPN = double pointed needles
SSK = slip, slip, knit slipped stitches together st(s) = stitch(es)


TO START:
With 2,5mm needles, cast on 60 sts and rib for 2cm
Now divide stitches evenly over 3 needles.
Change to 3mm needles [or 2,75mm needles] and knit till leg is desired length to heel [10-20cm]

BACK OF HEEL:
Knit 30 stitches onto 1 needle.
Leave the other 30 stitches on another needle or stitch holder.

Row 1 = Turn work and Slip 1 then Purl the remaining 29 stitches.
Row 2 = To create a reinforced heel, *Slip 1, Knit 1* Repeat till end of row.
Repeat Rows 1 & 2 14 times. Repeat row 1 again.


TO TURN HEEL:
Slip 1, Knit 15, Knit 2 stitches together, Knit 1, turn.

Row 1: Slip 1, Purl 3, Purl 2 together, Purl 1, turn.
Row 2: Slip 1, Knit 4, Knit 2 together, Knit 1, turn.
Row 3: Slip 1, Purl 5, Purl 2 together , Purl 1, turn.

Row4: Slip 1, Knit 6, Knit 2 togther, Knit1, turn.

Continue in this pattern working 1 more stitch before each decrease (Knit or Purl 1 together) until all stitches are knitted and on 1 needle

KNITTING THE GUSSET
With needle 1, pick up and knit 15 stitches down left side of heel flap.
Knit the 30 stitches from the stitch holder onto needle 2.
With needle number 3, pick up and knit 15 stitches up right side of heel flap And knit to center of heel with the same needle. Slip the remaining stitches onto the 1st neddle. This is the begining point of a row.


Row 1 = Knit all 74 stitches
Row 2 = Needle 1 - Knit to last 3 stitches, Knit 2 together, Knit 1
Needle 2 – Knit
Needle 3 – Knit 1, SSK . Knit to end

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until 60 stitches remain.


KNIT THE FOOT:
Knit till foot is 1cm shorter than desired length.



KNIT THE TOE:
Row 1: Needle 1 – Knit to last 3 sts, SSK, Knit 1,
Needle 2 – Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit to last 3 sts, SSK, Knit 1,
Needle 3 – Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit to end of needle 3.
Row 2: Knit


Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until 20 stitches remain..

Combine stiches on needles 1 and 2 so that you have 2 needles each with 10 stitches
Graft the toes closed [erm I think you should google this....]


I have not double checked this pattern as I wrote it from memory, please mail me if you get stuck or if you find an error.



Thanks

Carle



dehningc@gmail.com