Dragons, Dyes, and an Awesome Hank Winder

One dragon is completed and the other one has been cast on!  I’ve been busy with other projects (like yarn dyeing) which has slowed down my knitting progress.  But I’m still super excited about the Drops Air yarn and my new dragon friend who I think I’ll call Steve.  To follow the shape of my store-bought sweater underarm curve, I settled on decreasing every row.  It doesn’t look too bad.  I’ve held the sweater piece up to my body and it looks like it’ll be a great fit.  Steve’s new wing isn’t as pretty as the original wing design but at least it isn’t in my armpit anymore.

Here’s a peek at the yarns that have slowed down my dragon project.  I was in a more serene mood this time and produced subdued hues with my color mixing instead of the supersaturated colors of my last batch.  This yarn base is a superwash merino and silk blend that has a very pretty sheen.  2 – 100 gram hanks were dyed in each colorway so a larger project, like a shawl, could be made.  When my dragon sweater is finished, I may sneak some of this yarn out of my Etsy shop and cast on for a spring shawl.

I like to re-skein my yarns after they have been dyed because I feel like it better represents what the yarn will look like when it is knitted.  But, winding a skein isn’t an easy task without the right tools.  And, these tools can be a bit expensive.  So my super-sweet husband volunteered (after I begged and pleaded with him) to construct a skein-winder for me.  Here’s a home video of my daughter demonstrating how to use the new contraption that has saved me a lot of work!