Finishes and starts Finire e comminciare

This week I have finished three knitting projects:
Questa settimana ho finito tre capi ai ferri:

First - A shawl in mohair loop yarn, which I dyed with Japanese Indigo which I grew in my garden last summer. I got the shaded and flecked effect by winding the yarn tightly into two centre-pull balls using a ball winder before dyeing them in the indigo vat. I started knitting at the point of the shawl using the end on the outside of the first ball of yarn, so the point is blue then fades gradually to white with flecks of blue. I increased one stitch at the beginning of each row. When the first ball of yarn ran out I joined on the end from the inside of the second ball, continuing to increase and casting off when I reached the last few metres of yarn - back to blue along the top edge of the shawl.
Primo capo - una scialle in mohair, tinto da me con indaco giapponese, cresciuto nel mio orto l'estate scorsa. Per questa sfumatura ho avvolto strettamente il filato in due gomitoli prima di tingere.
Ho cominciato a lavorare al punto della scialla con il filato al esteriore del primo gomitolo. Quando il primo gomitolo era finito, ho aggiunto il filato dal interior dal secondo gomitolo.

Second project: my fifth (!!!) Sheep Carousel teacosy. can you spot the sheep with it's back turned?
capo secondo: la mia quinta(!!!) copriteiera Sheep Carousel. Vedi la pecora girata?

I have kits available with original Kate Davies printed pattern and 100% Shetland Supreme natural undyed Shetland wool yarn, either white and moorit as shown or white and natural black.

Third project: a cosy pair of socks, my own design, with divided toes to keep my tootsies cosy while wearing fit-flops (in the house) in winter. Knitted two-at-a-time and toe-up, with the soles in reversed stocking stitch for extra comfort. These are in DK Mirasol yarn and some DK cashmere. The pattern (printed copies available) is written for both standard sock yarn and DK, and the divided toes are optional.
Terzo capo: calze caldissime, il mio modello, per piedi caldi con infradita (in casa) in inverno. Lavorato due - alla - volta in tondo, dalla dita. Queste sono in DK Mirasol e cachemire, la schema (disponibile stampata) e scritto per filato di calze normale e DK, la infradita e un opzione.

Two new solar dyeing experiments started this week:
Due esperimenti nuove di tintura solare comminciati questa settimana:

buttercup petals  petalli di Ranunculus repens
plenty of this in my garden! Ho tante nel orto!

Forsythia leaves  foglie di Forsythia

Finally, I'm replanting dyeplants  - woad (guado) and madder (robbia)