Calling all Alaskan Knitters!

I have met or stumbled across a few Alaskan Knitters out there. And I feel the need to be connected to a place that has very much shaped who I am. So I decided to create our very own RingSurf for Alaskan Knitters. So now I am a proud Ring Momma. If you have lived in Alaska or currently live in Alaska, feel free to join! We would love to have you.

I also wanted to answer some questions posted in the comments of my last post.

Beverly said...
What's the Lisa Souza sock yarn like?

Well, it is quite nice and soft, but I found it to be not very elastic. I tend to knit tightly, especially on socks. So it was a little harder for me to work with than I would have liked because I suffer from carpal tunnel. It is also more loosely plied, so take care not to split your yarn. I think it washes up to be very soft, as mentioned in the post below. I suspect that some of these less favorable attributes were a result of the red dye (Lisa Souza and I had a nice email discussion about this; she is so wonderfully helpful.). The GingerPeach colorway she sent to me appears to be much softer, so I hope that it will be more elastic and easier on my hands. Alot of other sock knitters really love her sock yarn, so I think you should try it and see for yourself. She is not very expensive for hand dyed yarn, and she ships very quickly.

Wendie said...
oooooh loverly!Just wanted to stop by and thank you oh so very much for the most beautimous socks and all those goodies!!!! The socks fit perfectly and they're so soft (did the vinegar bath do that? I have some of the Sock! and it's not nearly that soft). I love it all and I seriously can't wait to dig into the yummies. Sugar overload, here I come! thank you thank you thank you!-your sockatine swap pal

Other than sharing the majority of Wendie's post as an attempt at shameless self-promotion of my gift giving abilities, I want to answer her question.

Here are the steps I took in trying to make your socks stop bleeding:

1. Soaked in a vinegar and water solution for a few hours (probably too long, but I wanted to be sure as it was my first try at this).
2. Soaked and washed in Lavander Eucalan soap for 15 minutes. To my horror the yarn was still bleeding. Promptly sent email to Lisa Souza for advice and left socks soaking overnight in the soapy water.
3. Simmered socks in vinegar and water solution for 45 minutes (again on the conservative side :) ).
4. Soaked and washed in Lavander Eucalan soap for 15 minutes.
5. Air dry.

I wanted to be ultra geeky and share all of the steps so that you could see, I don't know exactly what caused the yarn to become so soft. I suspect maybe the simmering for 45 minutes? You could try doing that with yours, and the side benefit would be that you would just be making sure that the dye stays fixed. I am glad you love them. I was afraid all of the processing made them too fuzzy.

I am going to apologize in advance for lack of knitting progress. Being a ring momma takes some time, and I am WAY behind in my quilting. I have to start and finish piecing two blocks today. Not a biggie, but I have not pieced for months, and I can't waste my fabric with any mistakes today. So keep your fingers crossed for me!