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Archive for November 20th, 2006

Tiger-Dyed Socks!

Monday, November 20th, 2006

I’m excited. Here is a photo of about 1/3 of the socks I’ve dyed for sale this holiday season. (Note: After initial post I later added 2 more photos showing all socks died thus far.) I hope I’ll find some more blank wool socks to dye but it’s just a fluke I found these. Clearly this will not be something I’ll offer over the course of time. It’s definitely a lucky holiday special offering. I tigerdyedsocks.jpgwill have 17 pair dry and ready to sell at the Mid-Michigan Knitters Guild sale and meeting Tuesday night.

What doesn’t sell Tuesday I’ll photo and put up here for you folks. Photo editing and putting up the web information is the most labor-intensive part of the whole process, sometimes it takes longer than the dyeing.

However, if you guys out there see something you want and send me an order via email ( Lynn at ColorJoy dot com) before I leave for the guild meeting (say 5pm Eastern time Tuesday) I’ll sell to you. That’s if you can handle me not presenting it in a lovely fashion on a proper sales page.

tigerdyedsocks2.jpgThe socks that look more intensely colored (in photo #1, top left three and bottom kneesock) are thin washable merino wool/nylon/lycra blend, and they are larger (though rated for the same “average” foot all socks say they are for). The softer-looking socks (right top and bottom, and middle kneesock) are truly softer because they are angora blend (rayon, angora, wool, polyester, nylon, lycra).

The angora blend socks are noticeably smaller. My size 6 narrow feet (woman’s XS) would be much happier in the angora socks, though with that lycra they would stretch to fit many sizes. Some of both fiber blends are knee socks, some regular leg height (about 6-8″). Some of the angora socks are cabled or ribbed, the merino are flat stockinette in a very thin fabric reminiscent of the tights of my youth, but made of wool.

tigerdyedsocks3.jpgAll styles are $19.50 plus a dollar shipping, no matter which style you choose. Considering that yarn to knit your own socks is more than that, I would say this is a good deal for a handmade artform.And I’m SO happy with how some of the socks look like tiger stripes! Lucky me to happen on that method so soon in the dyeing game!

OK: two more photos posted here (be aware that some places where it looks dark blue it’s actually a purple that is on the blue side)… I’m off to teach computers for the last time this calendar year but I’ll check my emails when I get home and see what you all think!

Gratitude

Monday, November 20th, 2006

I’ve been grumpy lately. I won’t bore you with any possible excuse for that.

When I am grumpy I find that a gratitude list puts my mind back on the positive. So, today I’m grateful for (not necessarily in any order):

  • I found these wool sox to dye/handpaint.
  • The healthy arrival of Kristi’s two sons.
  • People who love me, including my Brother, Eric; his wife Diana; my extra-ordinary mother, Liz; and my beloved hubby Brian.
  • A day which did not require me to leave the house.
  • A good dinner made by my sweetheart while I was doing other things.
  • An excellent term with my Haslett computer students (Monday is our last day together).
  • A basement dye studio, an attic polymer clay area, a wool area (actually several wool areas) in this little house.
  • A city where the people are friendly, the creative friends are many, and the cost of living is low.
  • My music: the voice I lost for a month a dozen years ago which has healed; the Heftone Bass given to me by my father in law Larry who invented/built it; and Brian whose incredible ukulele playing makes us an act worth hiring.
  • Color.
  • Good food, good recipes, a creative mind to make new recipes.
  • My job. I get to work as a renaissance woman, so to speak… teaching, singing, dyeing, knitting, designing, dancing on occasion. Never bored, and somehow it works.
  • Another day of living on this earth. That’s as basic as it gets, but it’s a profound thing.

(I have had requests for photos… I dyed 19 pair of commercial wool (or wool/angora) socks tonight and will get photos somehow. The knitting guild will probably see them first on Tuesday, but we’ll see what happens. I did also make a little more sockyarn in the flammegarn series, another couple of skeins in pink grapefruit and a few in very dark turquoise…)