fun tip

Did you know you can sign up for alerts - on your email or by text - for when the International Space Station will be passing overhead in any location you choose? Such as where you live? Or in a location where you plan to be, say, camping under the Big Big Sky somewhere on Earth?

Yep. Here you go: NASA ISS Alerts.

And in case you'd like a little graphic to explain how to use the alerts to know exactly where the ISS will appear on your very own horizon, and in what direction it will be travelling in a vast arc across the heavens, here's the picture that explains it.

It's truly exciting to see that little light crossing the sky, and suddenly feel a real-time connection to the International Space Station and the people living there. And it's so, so, so much easier than going to Astronaut School.

Have fun!
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everything put together falls apart*

Several things are falling apart at the same time here.
The good news is, they are things.

You already know about my trusty little camera. (Replacement ordered, arrangements made to recycle the one that's retiring.)
You may have heard me muttering about the laptop which has been a daily aggravation for a year. (Planned to replace it this month; now reconsidering.)
I can barely bring myself to type the words, but the Little Green SportsWagon - my faithful draftpony 2000 Elantra Wagon  - may need to be replaced before Winter; definitely by next Spring.
And yesterday, mid-cycle, my washing machine stopped washing.**

Good golly Miss Molly.

Deep breath.

Things. Not people, and thank goodness not animals. Just. Things.

Still, in an effort to bring some balance to my little universe, I'm going to spend this afternoon working on some sort of project I can tackle without spending any money. Fortunately, there are plenty to choose from :)

~ Wishing you a peaceful Sunday ~

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*post title borrowed from Paul Simon

** That dyed jacket? Still soaking wet. There's just no substitute for the spin cycle, is there? ;)

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saturday swatch

I did something funny last night.

Remember those six little samples of yarn, several yards of each?

I swatched them all.

I cast on the first sample just because it is hard to handle a new yarn and not put it on needles.

Plus, I wanted to see if my fingers would still work with needles the diameter of toothpicks. They would. They did.

And those first few rows of 30 tidy little stitches were so entertaining, I decided to continue and knit all the samples, making a note about which fiber was which. Because this is all in aid of the Big Decision for the next dyepot.

The entire finished swatch was about three by seven inches; half the size of a typical swatch for one yarn.

The little stripes indicate where the samples are linked by their individual pre-dyed wrapping strands. The result reminded me of those packets of jelly candies we used to buy when I was little. Do you know the ones I mean? There were five or six in a packet.

After noting some differences in the yarn as I knitted, and feeling differences in the texture of the knitted fabric - although certainly a "real" swatch would make this much easier! - I decided to wash the swatch to see if each fiber would bloom. Why not?

And this afternoon when I finally began a long-delayed project of overdyeing a plaid cotton jacket, I thought, "Why not take the tiny swatch experiment as far as possible?" and added it to the dyebucket. Not looking for quantitative information; just taking an opportunity to quickly see what the variability might be for uptake of dye.

Do you think there'd be much difference?

When all six sample yarns are based on two breeds of sheep?

Go on, take a guess.

And by the way, the bottom-most sections are the two I was initially trying to choose between.


ETA: the top four sections are merino yarns, the bottom two are British Bluefaced Leicester.

And for the truly hardcore: the 4-ply BFL was knit on US size 0 needles (2mm) while the 3-ply Sport merino was knit on US size 1 needles (2.25mm)

Dyeing is sooooo interesting!

I hope your Saturday has also been colorful and informative.

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P.S.

The jacket is having a second trip through the washing machine, to remove any excess dye. If I can get a few more pictures from my poor camera (the ones about took several attempts) I will post before and after snaps when the jacket is dry tomorrow. My goal was to tone down a squintingly-bright red plaid (with blue, green, and yellow components) into a deep brown fabric with subtle green tones.

Fingers crossed!

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choose 1, times 2

Top of my to-do list today: choose replacement for nearly-defunct camera. The research has been going on for several weeks, and I've narrowed it to three models. I am so tired of "shopping," even online.

My little camera has served me very well. I'll miss it. Here's one reason why: I took both these snaps from my chair in the Upper West Side paddock. One right after the other. Snap-snap.

See that yellow oval?

(It was easier than an arrow.)

Here's what's in it:

Not a tremendously sharp image, it's true.

But not too shabby for a camera that fits in my pocket.

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In other news, I'm planning a dyepot before the month is out.

Perhaps using "ordinary" dyes instead of botanicals this time...

but haven't made up my mind yet.

Because first, I have to choose the base yarn.

I've been pondering this for a few weeks,
and finally had it narrowed down to two.

(Just noticed a pattern developing here.)

I emailed the seller, who I've not bought from in several years.

Asked if I might have a few sample yards of each of the 2 bases.

(There is a minimum purchase amount - a kilo - 

so this is a big decision/investment for me.)

The owner kindly sent the two samples,

each one wrapped with a tiny dyed sample of that base.

Which is just brilliant.

Dyeing is always an adventure,

but it's nice to start with a clue of how the yarn may behave.

And because Sheila knew what I was looking for in a base,

she also sent four more samples.

It was like getting surprise candy samples in the mail.

And because I know there are fiber folk reading this blog,

and some of you are dye-dabblers like myself,

I'm including a link and a shout-out to Sheila at

Wool2Dye4

Thanks so much, Sheila.

I have now narrowed my choices down.

To three.

~~~

P.S. Do you sell cameras?

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wordless wednesday

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