Dyet Yarns: reuse, recycle, reinvent!

Going to the Doctor is sort of an ordeal for me. As a student with basically zero income, I despise paying someone money to tell me what I already know. Because of this, I generally only go when there is something the Doc can do that I cannot – like prescribe painkillers. My rotator cuff [...]

Tags: broken, doctor, Knitting, rsi, shoulder, spinning, tour de fleece

There is a Dyet Yarns Ravelry group now. Shop updates and new giveaways will be announced there, so you Ravelers can keep track. Check it out! If you don’t know about/aren’t on Ravelry, it’s a social network and database community for fiber fiends of all kinds. There are forums and groups as well as a [...]

After spinning some nice, fine merino on my spindle, I had two long bobbins of tiny singles. I started plying the two of them together as a 2-ply, and the yarn was just SO TINY that I decided I needed another method. I wanted a nice, smooshy yarn, so I decided to try making a [...]

Spinning with a spindle is nice and portable (and cheaper than buying a spinning wheel), but there are some problems. For instance, if it is windy, or you have a fan on, or you look at your fiber in the wrong light… the fiber you haven’t yet spun can catch in the twist of the [...]

I will be running a knitting workshop at ConnectiCon in Hartford, CT on Saturday (July 10) evening. If you are planning to go to the con, or if you are NOW planning to go to the con since you know I will be there, come by and say hello! I will have kits for up [...]

Tags: conventions, drama, Knitting, teaching, workshop

This weekend, Wendy D. Johnson came to Charlotte and taught an awesome workshop on toe and heel techniques at one of the local yarn shops, Charlotte Yarn. I learned how to do the two things I have been really wanting to figure out; Judy’s Magic Cast On and a slip-stitch heel for toe-up socks. I [...]

Tags: celebrity, dyeing, heel, lessons, mystery, new knitters, pattern, socks, wool, yarn

It’s fairly rare to discover a sweater that has the correct (in my opinion) fiber content and weight for sock yarn. Up until now, I have been of the opinion that sock yarn is the only yarn I am likely to buy new rather than recycle. I have been debating offering new skeins of hand-dyed [...]

Tags: angora, dyeing, Etsy, labels, lessons, mystery, recycle, socks, sweater, thrift, wool, yarn

So, you’ve read about this mysterious art of unraveling sweaters for the yarn online, and you’re ready to try it out. What do you buy to get started? If you’re like me, you could end up with 20 sweaters from your first thrift visit of varying quality. There are a few things you can look [...]

Tags: dyeing, labels, new knitters, recycle, thrift, tutorial, yarn

I dislike knitting with needles that are longer than the project I’m working on is wide. The ends stick out and bump into things. It’s especially bad if I’m sitting in a chair with arms…every stitch takes extra effort. Most of my straight needles are quite long. This, of course, is great when knitting something [...]

Tags: DIY, DPNs, lace, needles, new knitters