Fiber Output

As forecast, here is a photo-heavy post with some recent FO's.
(the yarns are FO's for the now - I haven't yet decided what I might do with them)

Finn, handpainted and semi-solid top dyed by Tactile with weld (the yellow) and other natural dyes, spun worsted and then 2 plied each color to itself and against each other. Just over 28 wpi, 2 oz., 411 yards

Light Gray No. Ronaldsey, given to me on my trip to Yorkshire a couple of months ago. Spun woolen, 16wpi, about 1.3 os., didn't measure it but probably about 230 yards.

Wensleydale, spun worsted from top purchased from Stitchjones. 8oz., 14wpi, 482 yards. Isn't it a great green? The colorway is Sligo.

Wool blend roving that has bee in the stash for a while, and was dyed and carded by a mill in upstate NY that's now out of business. A nice squishy 700ish yards of woolen spun fall colored yarn. (about 8 oz.)

And now for some real finished objects. There's a baby shower for my niece this week, but I can't make it because of the NwRSA conference in Tacoma. I'm sending this sweater and hat, along with a gift certificate that can be used for some tiny summer baby things, because the sweater and hat are sized for 12 months. Since the baby's coming in mid-July, they should fit for all this winter and next spring. The yarn is Encore, because I know this 21 y/o mom-to-be will want to put everything into the washer and dryer.

Now I'm ready to decide tomorrow what I'll need at the NwRSA conference in Tacoma this weekend, then pack and be ready to leave the next day.

Aaarrgghh!

It has never happened to me before, honestly. Yesterday I had a marathon plying session, so this morning I was happily washing up 8 skeins of yarn, and when I took them out of the soaking water - one had come pretty much completely untied. Yes, I had shortcut a bit and only tied it in 2 places, with the ends of the yarn, but the square knots seemed to have just melted in the water.

I lifted it out carefully once I realized what had happened, squeezed the water out, and carefully laid it on a shelf in my drying cabinet. I'll try Darlene's Never-Fail-If-You-Don't-Get-Impatient-And-Rush-It untangling method, learned at GGFI last year once it's dry. Luckily it's from some spun-long-ago singles in an autumnal colorway, so if the yarn gets a little "used" looking I won't mourn too much. If it had been one of the Tactile Finn laceweight skeins I would be much less philosophical about it.

Lesson learned - ALWAYS use at least one waste yarn tie when preparing for washing or dyeing!

On a more personal frustrating note - I've developed lactose intolerance, which is really limiting to me as I've been a big dairy foods fan all of my life. Yogurt is my standard breakfast, cottage cheese a frequent lunch, and fresh cheeses like ricotta used in a lot of recipes. I'm trying to see which hard cheeses I can eat, and cream cheese seems okay, but even goat's milk is a no-go. I've not found any lactose-free yogurt, and have tried making my own with lactose-free milk but even though it works beautifully, it still causes a reaction. Hopefully I'll adjust to this before long!

Also on a frustrating food note, my second breakfast staple, Oroweat Health Nut English Muffins, have been discontinued by the manufacturer. In combination with no yogurt, this has seriously impacted my morning routine. I've had better luck dealing with this, though - I've started making my own english muffins in a reasonable facsimile, and they're very good. I can fork-split and freeze them, and pop them in the toaster oven in the morning. So there, Oroweat! (who didn't respond to my email to them expressing my unhappiness in a very polite way)

Hopefully, photos of finished yarn and finished knitting in the next post.