September is here and I have a new episode for you with a second Baa-ble hat, a special little spinning project and some wonderful sock yarns in jewel tones. For the special segment of this episode, I am talking about the properties of a fantastic “by-product” of wool – lanolin or wool wax.

Ravelry Group

Click here to get to the dunkelgrun ravelry group, where you can find knitalongs and a lot of fun chatter and inspiration. I would love to see what you guys are crafting and have created a thread for that! We also have a thread for dyeing – where you can show off your handdyed yarns and fiber and ask questions! I’d love to see you there!

#etceterasocksKAL

Join us to knit a pair of et cetera socks – a stunning design by Verena Cohrs (the wool club). Here you find the ravelry thread with all additional information.

CO – August 3rd 2017 (or later)
FO by October 20th 2017

Prizes – There will be 5 winners!!!

  • 1 skein of Ovis Et Cetera Kempisch heideschaap sock with alpaca. 100% grown in Holland 75% Kempisch heideschaap wool 10% alpaca 15% polyamide 100 gram / 425 meters / 465 yards approx.
    Plus one pattern by Verena Cohrs – winner’s choice!
  • 1 Sock-Sized Project Bag from the Hanna Lisa Haferkamp Etsy Shopby your choice!
    Plus one pattern by Verena Cohrs – winner’s choice!
  • One pattern by Verena Cohrs– winner’s choice!
  • One pattern by Verena Cohrs– winner’s choice!
  • One pattern by Verena Cohrs– winner’s choice!

Finished Projects

Baa-ble Hat for my brother

  • Pattern: Baa-ble Hat by Donna Smith
  • Yarn: Jamieson’s Shetland Heather; 50 g, 92 m each (Aran); Colors: 101 Shetland Black, 1000 Duck Egg, 808 Pippin, 104 Natural White

Needles: DPNs in 3.0 mm (US 2½) for the brim and 4.5 mm (US 7) for the body of the hat.

  • I went down a needle size for the ribbing compared to the first Baa-ble hat I showed in Episode 11, because my brother prefers tightly fitting hats. It turned out a good amount smaller than the first one, and I think it will fit him well.

Knitting in Progress

Et Cetera Socks

  • Yarn: Ovis Et Cetera – Et cetera sock set “klei donker”, 85% Kempisch heideschaap wool 15% polyamide, Fingering weight, 2 ply.
  • Needles: 2.5 mm (US 1 1/2), magic loop.
  • Toe up socks – twisted rib, faux cable – charted and written instructions. Two heel options: german short row and gusset & flap heel – I went for the latter because I never knit toe up socks with a heel flap. And I was totally amazed by this construction. It was not my last toe up sock with a gusset and heel flap!
  • After having to frog a good part of the leg (because I was knitting on it half asleep in the evening) I am back on track again and hoping to finish soon.

Unini the unicorn

  • Pattern: I knit this unicorn last year and now I want to recreate it and write the pattern. It’s going very well and the testknit is going to be kicking off soon!
  • Yarn: organic merino dk dyed in rainbow colors to mimick the naturally dyed shades of the original unicorn.

CALL FOR TESTKNITTERS:

A lot of people have already communicated their interest to testknit my unicorn. This is now the official call for testers, and I hope that you understand that I am not able to collect all the comments and messages that came in on different social media platforms.
I only register testknitters who contact me by e-mail!!


The requirements for this testknit are:

  • You need to have a fine balance / scale (displays 0.1 g). Kitchen scale is not accurate enough.
  • I need to know exactly how much yarn you used and how much stuffing you used. You will need to weigh the material before and after.
  • I would like to have a diversity of advanced and not so advanced knitters in the testknitting team. Please let me know your skill level and which of the techniques in the following list you are familiar with.
  • Techniques used, but not explained in the pattern: working in the round using magic loop, directional increases and decreases, Judy’s Magic Cast On. Techniques which are explained in the pattern: German short rows, seaming with mattress stitch, attaching doll hair with a crochet hook (photo tutorial).
  • The deadline for finishing the unicorn will be October 13th 2017 (might be extended).
  • The testknit will be done via e-mail and we are going to use Google docs to share information.

Spinning

Knit Together Project by Melissa

  • The Knit Together Project was initiated by Melissa from Knitting the Stash. The idea is that people all over the world knit blanket squares and send them to her. She is going to put them together in a blanket, and from all the people who contributed a square a random winner will be picked, who is going to win the blanket.
    More information and how to get involved: Check out Mellissa’s blog post about the topic, as well as her podcast.Each square represents a memory or special preference of the knitter who made it.
  • Leftover fibers from various special projects
    white & brown merino, polwarth, yak, alpaca, tussah silk, camel
  • Carded to rolags using hand carders, then spun into a worsted to aran weight 2ply yarn.

Dyeing

The lovely jewel tones were created using leftover acid dyes on dunkelgrün classic sock. You will find them in my etsy shop. I don’t know yet when I will get around to photograph and create the listings. In case you are very interested in one of the skeins, please contact me 🙂

In the mailbox…

dyed by alfinete

Paula is a Portuguese indie dyer with an amazing feeling for color. All her coloways are unique – as is her style! Find her blogspot here and her website here. You can also find her on instagram where she is @dyedbyalfinete.

The yarn I received from her is “Sul” – 100% merino fingering.

Package from Finland: Tukuwool

Meri is a viewer of the podcast and has so kindly sent me this lovely gift from her home country – Finland. Thank you so much!

Tukuwool Fingering, 100% Finnish wool; colorway Lehto (dark green)

Tukuwool Sock, 80% Finnish wool, 20% nylon; colorway Selja (bright green) & Kajo (teal).

Lanolin

I buy my lanolin from Spycher Handwerk. This website is only available in German or French.
I think you will find lanolin at the pharmacy or drug store, or also in online shops where they sell raw ingredients for cosmetic making. Be careful to buy 100% pure lanolin “without water”. Some cosmetic preparations contain water and are also sold under the name lanolin. If you’re in doubt, it’s best to ask  the seller. I guess you could also use the water-containing lanolin, especially if you want to use it to make skin creams or similar.

The book I mentioned is The Lanolin book. It’s a great ressource of information about lanolin, but you might not enjoy reading it if you don’t come from a scientific background. Both the language and content are very technical.