Wool, glorious wool

The dorm boots are done, ready for their bath and then to be added to the Warm Up Box for Cheyenne River Reservation. These were made with Peace Fleece Rugged Yarn in Bedouin Blue--took less than 1 skein. I expected this yarn to be rough, since they recommend it as a rug yarn. My only experience with rug yarn has been Aunt Lydia's rug yarn, which is just slightly less scratchy than fiberglass. But this yarn wasn't scratchy at all; not as soft as merino, of course, but I wouldn't hesitate to pop them on my feet. In fact, if I could wear them, I would be sorely tempted not to send them off! I'm really looking forward to seeing how they feel after a nice washing.

I've started a pair of socks for The Box, using my standard 32-stitch sock pattern. I plan on doing the Sherman heel, though, instead of the usual flap-n-gusset heel. This yarn is a light worsted, thinner than the Fisherman's Wool I usually use, so they'll probably be baby-sized. I wish I could remember where I got this yarn; it's so soft! It's superwash wool, and I'd love some socks made with this yarn for my own self. I thought I got it from Herrschner's, but if I did, they don't have it any more. Bummer.

I've been playing around a little with the dyepot (actually, the dye-Crock-Pot), and made this:

I mistakenly set the Crock-Pot on high and it started to boil (eek!). I was sure this would be a felted mass, but it turned out fine. It was just regular wool, not superwash or anything-whew!

Here it is wound into a ball. It came out a little darker than I intended, but I'm sure someone will like the colors. I plan to make another hat to go into The Box. Looking forward to seeing how this knits up.

Our weather has turned cold, and I am loving my wool socks, and thinking how much I need to make more (and in colors that I can actually wear with my work clothes). Pretty soon, I'm sure I'll get up the nerve to fix the error in my ILG socks so I can get back to work on them. After all, I could have ripped out the whole thing & reknit it by now! Just have to screw my courage to the sticking point.

Pretty soon.