Natural Dye - Marigolds

I absolutely adore Marigolds!  Lovely flowers that bloom all Summer long + they are excellent at natural dye.

I'm a knitter but not really a sock knitter - preferring other wearable accessories and sweater knitting over socks, but I've always wanted a pair.  I purchased this sock yarn way back in 2008 when I was pregnant with my first child with the hopes of it becoming socks, but never got around to it.  The poor skein has been shoved around in my yarn stash box for years now, since I'm not that impressed with the color it lay neglected.  It is way to blue and I've often wondered why I even bought it in the first place.  It is Lana Grossa Meilenweit - colorway 8007 (blue, tan with a bit of yellow - maybe some grey)

Before!!

I found a bag of Marigolds taking up freezer space and decided to finally use them.  

Frozen since 2013! 

 over 12 oz of flowers for my 4 oz skein is a bit much 

so I raided my closet for something to add to the dye pot.  

I found a 100% cotton summer tank 

that is just a boring white.  

Tossed both in for an alum mordant

Here is the after yarn dyed with Marigolds and a quick half skein dunk in an Iron post mordant

I divided the skein into two equal mini skeins for easy sock knitting.  

Love the green, yellow earthy tones! 

 I cannot wait to cast on

I plan on knitting the Smooth Operator Socks by Susan B. Anderson 

since the pattern is full of tips and tricks for the not so

sock knitter - kind of knitter, like myself!

for those of you who are knitterly inclined....

I have a new design in the pipeline and am looking for testers.  You can find my posting on Ravelry here if you are interested.  It knits up pretty quickly and is quite mindless and easy for a good Summer knit.

Here are the details:

Knit sideways & slightly asymmetrical in shape incorporating I-cord, a cable motif running along one edge and simple yarn over lace.

Deadline: August 24, 2015

Level: This is a good pattern for an adventurous beginner and experienced knitters alike, since it is simple enough but contains some basic cables to keep things interesting.

Samples knit with: 
Fingering Weight Version: 
Quince & Co Finch (100% American Wool; 
221 yards/50g): Aleutian 148 colorway 2 skeins. 
442 yards total 
Finished Dimensions: 56” x 22”

Sport Weight Version: 
Cosymakes Snapdragon (100% Wool; 415 yards/ 
113g): Pink colorway 1 skein. 415 yards total 
Finished Dimensins: approx 59” x 30”

Materials: 
YARN: Fingering Weight Version: 
approx 450 yards, exact yardage may vary depending on final size

Sport Weight Version: 
approx 420 yards, exact yardage may vary depending on final size

NEEDLES: 
Fingering Weight Version: 
US#7 (4.5mm) 24” circular and double pointed needles (dpn)

Sport Weight Version: 
US#9 (5.5mm) 24” circular and double pointed needles (dpn)

NOTIONS: waste yarn; stitch markers; cable needle; darning needle

GAUGE: fingering weight: 20 sts and 32 rows = 4 inches 
in garter st 
sport weight: 22 sts and 33 rows = 4 inches

Expectations: 
Create a project page (list yarn and needle size), add at least one WIP photo, provide detailed feedback to me and report any errors, request help if needed, finish by deadline and post completed pictures and dimensions to your project page.

Interested?: Please get me your email address and let me know a bit about yourself. Let me know which yarn weight version you are interested in knitting (fingering or sport). 

I appreciate your help with my newest design.