Author Archives: Bronwyn

Decisions

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I’ve been making decisions lately.

I’d originally planned to call my new shawl design Aurora’s Light, but I kept looking at it:
Knitted shawl - Christmas Lights
… and the Christmas Trees under the Christmas Star pattern just kept leaping out at me, and I finally decided that it couldn’t really be called anything else but Christmas Lights.

The pattern is currently being tested by a small band of enthusiastic testers over on Ravelry. There’s still scope for a couple more testers, so if you’d like to join in, see the discussion thread on the Brangian KAL group – the important info about the pattern is in the first post.

In an earlier post, I mentioned starting another sample of the shawl in lovely silk/merino from Knitabulous in a colourway called Tequila Sunrise – gorgeous pink and peach colours. However, having changed the name, I’m decided to put that one aside for a while, and I’ve started another one, this time for the medium size in a great Christmas green yarn from Saffron Dyeworks:

Christmas Lights Shawl progress

I’m planning to use the Tequila Sunrise yarn for a different pattern, perhaps a new one that may even start with the star, but go quite differently from there…. I’m still thinking about that. And there’s plenty of time, because I have to knit the green Christmas Lights first!

The other decision-making currently occupying my mind relates to the cleaning out and tidying I’m doing in our sunroom. When we designed the house, the plan was that one end of the sunroom would be my craft/office space. However, in between the start of building on the house, and moving in, I acquired a large, 12-shaft countermarche loom – which does fit at the end of the room, but takes up rather a lot of it! I also resigned from my full-time job the week that we moved, back in 2001, and although I’ve had other jobs out at the uni since then, I no longer have an office out there to store all my work-related things. Now I’m working from home, on another career, and it brings its own stack of paperwork, resources, and books. I’ve got bookshelves overflowing in the guest room, and a tiny desk tucked into a corner there, and a stack of paperwork, books, and fibre/yarn things in the sunroom, which is also home to assorted other bits of furniture and aspects of our life – amongst other things, the washing is frequently hanging up to dry there! And for the past year or so, I’ve been basically working at the dining table, moving my laptop when we have guests.

I’ve advertised the large loom for sale a number of times over the past few years, with no luck. I’ve also got a smaller 4-shaft counterbalance loom, and I’d planned to keep it until I could replace both with a smaller 8-shaft loom. Then the thought finally occurred to me the other day – why not keep the large loom, which will weave just about anything I’ll ever want to weave, and sell the smaller loom? If I also find new homes for the rocking chair, the treadmill, & assorted boxes, I could put a desk/table in their place, and shelves/cupboards on the other side of the big loom, rather than trying to work at a desk crammed in there.

Maybe it’s because Spring is in the air, or maybe its just the right time to do it, but I’ve begun the task of decluttering so that I can rearrange things, and although it doesn’t look like it just yet, I have made significant progress! The major ‘if’ of the decision about the looms, though, is that I have to make sure that I can work comfortably at the large loom. In all the years I’ve had it, I’ve only woven about 4 warps on it; when I was trying to sell it I wasn’t weaving on it, but I’m itching to weave again and I’ll wind a warp soon and test out that it will be okay as my only loom. But first I’m going to make apron cloths for the front beams and double back beams, as it doesn’t have any and I’ve always thought it need them. I bought calico for that today… and excavated the sewing machine!

Although there is one decent-sized cupboard in the room, it’s not quite large enough for all my stash and paraphenalia, so I’ve been looking at storage cupboards this week, and think I’ve found a suitable one to put down one end of the room. I just have to decide what else will go into the not-much space between the loom and the wall, and how I’ll configure that. Oh, and how I’ll afford it, as well!

And on top of all those decisions, there are a hundred small ones, as I sort through paperwork and other things. I’ve emptied a filing cabinet, although there’s a pile of files that need to be kept; tax paperwork, and family ephemera such as pictures drawn by my niece and nephew when they were little. I’ve emptied a cane chest, and put an assortment of things into a box to go to the Salvation Army… but there’s a jumper I started making for my nephew, when he was 3-ish – it’s almost finished, but he’s now 16! And a lovely fair-isle cardigan, started 11 yeas ago – for my now 19 year old niece. I’m not sure if I’ll finish them, or pass them on to a knitter with small kids to finish. I did put the almost-finished lacy baby jacket and pattern into the Salvos box – hopefully it will find its way to a knitter who likes baby things. I’ve managed to be firm with decisions about some spinning fibre; bits and pieces of fleece and natural roving are going into my compost bin or will become mulch in the garden. I’ve still got a box and a bag or three of lovely fibres, but the older, not-special fibres are going out.

There’s still a way to go until it’s all sorted, but I’m feeling good about progress, and looking forward to eventually having my own space again.

New in the shop

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I’ve now been through and checked all the shop inventory and added in some new sets of stitch markers. As I’ve probably mentioned, I’ve sourced some closed rings and so now can offer both rings and loops; the rings only come in two sizes, but the tigertail loop ones are in varying sizes, from small to larger. Here’s a selection of some of the newest ones:

A selection of stitch markers at Yarnosophy

Top row: Ice Blue; Dusk; Firebirds;
Middle row: Tropical Lagoon; Hot Ice; Margot Fonteyn;
Bottom row: Mauve and Turquoise Orbs; the tiny pearl lace markers I posted about yesterday; and Royal Blue.

I feel better now that the job is done – and just as well it is done, because I’ve got plenty of other things to be getting on with!!

A round of updates

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I’ve been busy with updating and rearranging things, here and there.

I’ve updated the Brangian pattern. There were no errors in the previous version, but the new version has a better (I hope!) layout, and also includes information about varying the pattern, including instructions for the All-Lace version. Here’s my All-Lace one underway:
Brangian Shawl, All Lace version

The updated pattern has been uploaded to Ravelry and to the Yarnosophy shop, and I’ve let Ravelry buyers know to download the new version. I’ll be emailing those who have bought the pattern through Yarnosophy shortly.

I’ve also been doing some updating and reorganising in the Yarnosophy shop. I’ve set up a number of categories for the stitch markers, so it will be easier for people to find the size and style (rings or loops) that they prefer. I’ve also changed the default currency setting to Australian dollars; I originally had it set as US dollars, as I advertise on Ravelry and I know that some US people find non-US currencies discouraging, but as most of my buying customers are from Australia, (the postage costs tend to be off-putting for overseas buyers) it makes more sense to use $AUD. So that’s all now changed over!

I’m also doing an inventory check, and improving my own behind-the-scenes system. It’s not been pretty good and I’m happy with the way they’re packaged, but I’m going through and adding a label to each set of markers with all the pertinent info including the name they’re listed under, needle size, and price code, and cross-checking that with what’s listed – early on, I underestimated the needle sizes that the tigertail loop ones would fit, so I’m updating all of those. This will make it easier for people who buy offline to look through the box and have the info to hand, and also for me to quickly find the right markers when people buy them through the shop. It all takes time, of course! However, now that I’ve refined the packaging/system/shop catalogue, it will be easier for everyone, including me!

I’ve found a good source of closed rings, so I’ve been making some markers with rings rather than loops – but I still use the tigertail to attach the beads. As there’s no wrapped wire, they’re also snag free. The rings only come in two sizes, so I’m making small markers which fit up to size 3.75mm needles, and medium ones which fit up to 5.5mm needles.

The small ones I’ve made with 6mm pearls are perfect for lace or baby knitting – and I think they’re very sweet!
Small stitch markers

They’re now in the shop, and I’ll have some more medium ring stitch markers in there in the next few days – I’ve got a few made already, but they have to be photographed and entered, which all takes time.

When I’m not updating patterns, making stitch markers, or playing shop keeper and tidying up the stock, I’m knitting while I stare at the screen and trying to write. I’ve started another sample for the new pattern, Aurora’s Light. I’ve still got a few more hours of work on it before the pattern is ready for testing, but hopefully I’ll squeeze that in in the next week or so. Here’s what I’ve knitted so far – the yarn is some of Knitabulous’ fifty-fifty merino/silk fingering. The yarn colour, Tequila Sunrise, is perfect for Aurora’s Light!

Aurora's Light shawl in progress

But right now, I’m going to get back to writing the next book!

Indigo swap

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A few weeks back, I signed up for the Indigo Luxury Swap in the Australian Swappers group on Ravelry. I don’t usually do swaps – only because of a lack of time – but I couldn’t resist the ideas of indigo and luxury, especially as, as you’ll have gathered from my last few posts, I love blues, have always wanted to play with indigo, and when it comes to yarns, I’m all for luxury ones!

It’s been a fun time, stalking my swap partner, finding out about her likes, and thinking of things to add in to the parcel for her. I ordered the yarn just after partners were allocated, and it arrived about two weeks back – it’s beautiful, and I hope she’ll love it. participating in the swap has prompted me to try out some new things – the indigo dyeing and shibori I’ve already posted about, making little boxes, and I got the sewing machine out again today for the first time in months. Today I put the finishing touches to her package, and posted it off. I won’t put the details here until after she’s received it, but here’s a sneak peek:

Indigo Luxury Swap sneak peek

Indigo & Shibori

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Sunday was a beautiful spring day, so I took the opportunity of the warmth and made up another indigo dyevat, having learned how a few weeks ago. Last time I was focusing more on learning the process, and I didn’t actually dye a lot. This time I wanted to cement my learning, overdye some yarns I dyed the first time, and experiment with some basic shibori. Gordon’s pair of old faded jeans also went into the vat – although I warned him i couldn’t guarantee a satisfactory outcome!

Indigo Dye Solution

Indigo Dye Solution - just mixed

Indigo dye solution after reducing for an hour

Yarns soaking before dyeing


On top are the white cotton fabric pieces for experimental shibori. Clockwise from there – blue lace merino I previously dyed; gold reeled silk; green is the gold reeled silk I dyed last time; and the blue is a 15/3 silk dipped once last time.

Jeans oxidising after indigo bath


The colour transformations in indigo dyeing are wonderful as the cloth is exposed to air and oxidises the dye – but it’s a but tricky to photograph them, as they change quickly, and getting rubber gloves off, getting a camera and snapping a photo takes time! I turned the jeans over on the drying rack, and the green stripes are where the cloth was pressed against the rack wires, and therefore hadn’t oxidised – yet. It’s a beautiful shade of green – for a minute or two, before it changes!

Indigo dyeing results


I could have dyed more with the two vats I had going, but this was enough for the time being – I wanted to see how things turned out, before committing more yarn or fabric to be eternally blue! We decided that the jeans might need to be washed and dried before being dipped again (and perhaps again… and again…). I also wanted to see how the shibori worked…

…and for quick shibori experiments, they worked well!

Stitched shibori leaf (single row stitching)

Stitched shibori dolphin (double row stitching)

The yarn is still drying, but all in all, I’m quite happy with the results. And I can definitely see more shibori in my future!

August 15% off sale

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Because I’ll be away in hospital for a few weeks in September or October, I’m having a sale in the Yarnosophy shop during this last week or so of August to clear some stock before I have to close the shop while I’m away.

From now until the end of the month, there’s 15% off stitch markers, row counters and yarn – so do hop over there and stock up on some little goodies, either for yourself, or to put aside for Christmas gifts.

I’m not sure yet when I’ll be away, or for how long (hopefully only 3 weeks), so I figured now was a grand time for a sale!

Rich blue glass bead stitchmarkers

Glass pearl & swarovski crystal stitchmarkers

Aurora’s Light?

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Thank you to everyone who has made suggestions for the name for the new shawl. I’ve been looking up goddesses and heroines of legend, trying to find one connected with the sun, stars, or dawn – one with an easy to spell, and pretty name!

I think I’ve decided on Aurora. In Roman mythology, she is the Goddess of Dawn, and I think the shawl design can be seen to have dawn spreading over forests and streams… However, as there are multiple shawls and other items called ‘Aurora’ on Ravelry, the name needs something extra – so how does Aurora’s Light sound?

And here she is, in the shawlette size:
Aurora's Light Shawlette

I hope to get some better photos soon, but it was a grey, wet day today, so not much photography was happening!

Now I just have to finish writing up the pattern, send it out to testers, and finish knitting a shawl-size one. In all that spare time I have….

Beautiful blues

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It’s been a busy few weeks! So, what’s been happening?

The weekend before last, Emily (Rav link) and I set up a couple of indigo dye vats, and had a great afternoon gently dunking yarn, fibre and fabric into them, and watching the magic results as we took the dyed items from the vat, and on exposure to the air they gradually changed from green through lovely blue-green shades to blue. I didn’t dye a lot (I didn’t have a lot prepared), but now I know the process, I’m planning to do it again, very soon. Maybe even tomorrow. I want to re-dip a couple of the skeins I dyed, to get a deeper blue. Plus dye some more things!

It’s impossible to photograph things when you have blue-stained rubber gloves on, but fortunately Tara was there, too, and very handy with her camera. She’s put a set of photos from the day on Flickr.

A couple of days after the indigo-dyeing, I headed down to Sydney for the Romance Writers of Australia conference at Coogee. Very little in the way of knitting was achieved while I was away, other than a handful of rows on a present (now late) for my nephews birthday. More on that when it’s finished! But the conference was, as usual, fantastic, and I’m all energised and motivated to get really cracking with the new book. Although textile work is rewarding, it doesn’t pay the bills, so I’m going to have to put my writing work (mostly) first for a while.

However, now that I’m home again, I did finally take some time today to block the shawlette that I finished knitting two weeks ago. It’s the second prototype for my new design. I’m mostly happy with it, but in the final pattern I will make the ends of the spines deeper and more pointy over a few more rows, taking them down towards/into the border pattern.

Blue shawlette blocking

Knitted shawl - bead detail

The charts are all done; I ‘just’ have to finish the general instructions and do the written lace instructions for those who don’t like charts.

Oh, and come up with a name for her!!

Indigo

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Can you believe I’ve never taken part in a swap? The list of projects that I want to do is always so long that I’ve resisted the temptation… until recently, when the Indigo Luxury swap was announced on the Australian Swappers list on Ravelry. ‘Indigo’ and ‘Luxury’ are two words I find hard to resist… and together… well, let’s just say that my resistance and sensible arguments of ‘but you’ve got so much else to do just now’ lasted less than 24 hours before I signed up!

For the last week, I’ve been obsessively thinking blue thoughts 🙂 The swap involves a skein of luxury yarn, plus something extra, in indigo or rich blue, which doesn’t have to be handmade. I’ve ordered the yarn – a luscious midnight-blue silk-merino fingering yarn – and I’m busy planning various other blue possibilities. What doesn’t go to my swap partner I will be very happy to keep myself!

On the spur of the moment, when I signed up, I arranged an indigo dye day with Emily, one of the local Ravellers. We’re going to do that this afternoon, at the Spinners & Weavers meeting, and there may be others join in as well. The indigo dye arrived on Thursday, my friend Margaret gave me all her leftover chemicals (indigo dyeing is a slightly complicated process), I have found and printed out several sets of instructions, and am half-way through gathering together all the bits I need to take in today. I must remember to take yarn & some fabric! Must also try to remember to a) take my camera and b) take some photos!

I’ve also been having fun making some indigo and rich blue stitchmarkers – they’re now in my Yarnosophy shop, in a special category of their own to make them easy to find. Here’s a sample of a couple of the sets:
Knitting stitch markers - Royal Silver

Knitting stitch markers - Indigo Sky

Knitting Stitchmarkers - Ble Velvet

My love of blue in fabrics and yarns (and pottery and glass!) means that I’ve always been interested, although never tried, the Japanese techniques of shibori (dyeing using various resist techniques) and sashiko (decorative stitching). So, if I can organise myself this morning to get off the computer (any minute now!), I’m going to do some shibori stitching on some white fabric (which is already cut and right beside me) and pop it into the dyepot this afternoon. (I found this excellent tutorial online.) I’m picturing a project bag, with a shibori panel one one or both sides…

Okay, I’m off to get myself organised! Hopefully our dyepot/s this afternoon will work well, and I’ll have some photos – and dyed goodies – to show later!

Sparklies

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I’ve had a fun day, surrounded by sparkly beads. I’ve collected some lovely beads in the past few months, including some special sets, and today I made up some stitch markers that I’ve listed in the shop as Limited Editions. Because the beads are more expensive, they’re priced a little higher, but worth it for those who enjoy something extra-special!
Cloisonné and glass bead knitting stitch markers Gold foiled glass bead stitch markers

I also used some wonderful lampwork and other fancy beads from some bead mixes I’ve bought, and made up a stack of one-off stitch markers. These are destined for the ‘Lucky Dip‘ I’ve now set up in the shop: customers can buy a ‘Lucky Dip’, and receive one large, two medium, or three small stitch markers for a bargain price – and a nice surprise! I’ll also give away a Lucky Dip to anyone who buys two sets of stitch markers. I know there’s some knitters out there who love to collect individual markers, so the Lucky Dip is a way to add a surprise to the collection!
Medium stitch markers for 'Lucky Dip'

I enjoyed playing with the sparklies during the day – sitting out in the sunroom, with the sunlight pouring in was a lovely way to spend a winter afternoon. I think the stress of all the medical dramas – and The Princess Dog’s medical dramas – has been catching up with me, so it was probably past time I spent some hours doing something purely pleasurable, that didn’t require vast amounts of brain power! The new markers are now all made, photographed, entered into the shop, and packaged up in the new display/posting packs I made. So that’s a fair amount achieved for the day.

However, I haven’t done a stitch of knitting today, so I’m no nearer finishing the new shawl. The revised border chart is now finalised, and it SHOULD work for both small and large sizes, but the proof won’t come until the knitting is done…. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to knit. And write. Really.