Update-A-Palooza!!

I wish I could say that crappy cropping

makes all the difference in this photo.

Truth is it is an accurate representation of a big mess 'o yarn.

Click if you want to see the gory details.

I'm trying to play catch up today, but catch up does not play fair. As soon as I think I'm getting somewhere, I remember ONE MORE THING that should have been on my to-do list. On the list: Blog update. Here goes:

Mystery Stole Update:

I have been fighting with my mystery stole. Mistakes, rip-backs, etc., plus I'm having a hard time visualizing how this will block. And my join looks like crap.

Finally, do you remember how at the beginning of this little dance number, someone on the MS3 board specifically said (Lord, I hope it wasn't Melanie) "Don't slip the first stitch of every row. It will make the blocking too tight."

(Insert whiny font here): But I always slip the first stitch of every row. It makes that nice little chain stitch on the edge . . .

So: Guess who is now worried about the edge of her shawl not being stretchy enough to withstand a vigorous blocking. (Excuse me while I apply fist to forehead, with vigor and conviction.)

I am currently 30 rows into Clue 6, and am in "head down knitting mode." No longer attempting to "read" my knitting or do the Vulcan mind meld with my knitting or even be friends with my knitting. I am just trying to get the dang thing done.

I'm not sure why I'm surprised that the honeymoon is over with this project. Any time I work on a project this size and/or difficulty, I go through a faze where I just want to put on my fuzzy slippers, drive up to the nearest Goodwill collection bin, and pitch the whole thing in without even slowing down. A drive-by abandonment of wayward knit goods.

But I am determined to finish MS3, and finish in a reasonably timely manner. I'll keep you posted -- and if (when! not if!) -- ummm - when I finish clue #6, I will post better photos.

Dyeing/ Spinning Update/ Questions for Readers:

Recent purchases: Cashmere from Sarah's yarn. I'm stocking up for Christmas presents. Buy 8 skeins and you get a price break!

400 yards each
Anyone out there have any ideas for scarf patterns

that take 400 yards? Let me know!

Bought some silk cocoons. Seemed like a good idea at the time . . .

Could someone please tell me what the heck to do with these?

I have already de-bugged them, which was pretty gross.

What now?

Dyed some yarn for the Padded Footlet pattern (In Interweave Press' Favorite Socks). Dark purple for the foot, screamin' green for the accent.

. . .and spun some wonderfully soft Blue Face Leicester (pronounced "lester" -- go figure) roving. I have about 225 yards, and will probably make a scarf with it:

Bailey was much help, as usual.

(Here he is stalking the elusive row counter, under cover of shawl.)

Tomorrow:

My next major knitting project is on its way from across the pond. Check back tomorrow for details!

Mystery Stole Woes and . . . Joy In-a-Box Arrives!

I ran amok with my mystery shawl last night. I must have knit row 51 5 times before finally giving up and going to bed.

This morning I thought "surely I will sort this out quickly." And the gods laughed. I counted, recounted, and parsed 2 rows -- stitch-by-stitch -- to the chart. Still couldn't figure out where I went wrong (still one extra stitch). Ripped back 2 rows. Still screwy. Ripped back 4 rows and inserted a little colorful midwestern patois for good measure.

All the while I was sitting in my living room, glaring out at the street, wondering where the heck my UPS lady was. This morning I checked UPS tracking on the 'net, and next to my spinning wheel were the wonderful words: OUT FOR DELIVERY.

I needed more than this. I needed a turn-by-turn report as to the UPS lady's exact where-abouts. GPS coordinates would be good. Maybe I could intercept --er-- meet her somewhere, and she could fling my wheel in my general direction. It would save her a stop.

Finally, I got to row 52 on my stole. Relief! I am having such a hard time with clue 5! I think I need to seriously tweak my system. I stomped around the house and ate too much cake and growled at my messy son. Then I took him to his dermatologist appointment.

Got home. Still no wheel. Decided that doing laundry might take my mind off of things. It didn't. Stomped around some more. In desperation, I vacuumed (shudder).

While checking my e-mail for the 18th time, I heard the unmistakable sweet dulcet tones of a UPS truck. And, next thing I knew, the UPS lady (delightful woman that she is) was handing me a smallish box. Light, even.

Within a matter of minutes, my Joy (that's the actual model name) was set up and looking, as my sister says, fab-oo:

Profile shot

Fetching rear view

Bailey fails to see the attraction of any of this.

Birds at the bird feeder, however . . .

Joy and I are still making each other's acquaintance, but so far I am very happy. She treadles like silk, and her pared-down design appeals to me. And -- yes! We have yarn! (Or at least a ply!)

Woo-hoo!

Update-Spinning, Dyeing, etc. & Very Cute Stitch Markers

(see below for info on these Hide and Sheep markers)

Had another spinning lesson today. Sandy, bless her heart, tried to teach me how to "navajo ply." As I understand it, navajo plying is done with a single strand of yarn when you want to ply it back on itself. It strengthens and thickens the yarn.

One hand is pulling, one hand is pushing, one hand is throwing the yarn around -- yikes. I only have two hands, and they are currently not on speaking terms. To make a long story short, I am now doing what I've come to think of as the " 'ho ply" -- it's a third of a navajo ply, but easier and much less attractive. I will have to work on it on my . . . new spinning wheel.

Gulp.

I am having some serious buyer's remorse, but I found an Ashford Joy on e-bay that was a very, very good deal. Spinning wheels do hold their value, so I could sell it for what I paid for it. If necessary. You can see that my justification strategy is still a little wobbly. Anyway, it is supposed to be here tomorrow, but here's a picture:

How could I not buy this??

_______________________

Here are some updates on recent dying / spinning / knitting projects:

I over-dyed the lettuce-y green silk/cashmere blend. I'm much happier with the new color:

What color is this? Basil? Oregano?
Sour cream found at the back of the fridge with a 2006 "best if bought by date" ?

Spun some bea -u- tiful plum colored Blue Face Leicester roving, then plied it with a multi-color merino single:

I like this. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. Don't have a yarn meter, so have no idea what the yardage is. Enough to make a hat, maybe.

Here's the 2-ply I made with the roving I dyed. I like the yarn more than I liked the roving:

Not a color I'd normally wear, but several in my family would like it. Hmmm.

And I'm 50 rows into the first chart of clue five for MS3. I **love** the new direction the design is taking. It is so unexpected and fresh. However, I am knitting at the speed of an arthritic sloth. Hopefully I will speed up as I get accustomed to the new pattern/design.

__________

Got another one of those lumpy bags in the mail today. Just love those. Inside were some of the prettiest stitch markers I've ever seen. I treated myself to these because, since I've started knitting lace, most of my stitch markers are way too big (see photo below -- the yellow ring is one of my old stitch markers).

I chanced upon an Etsy company that makes these rings. I love the minimalistic design -- nothing to catch your yarn because the metal "join" is under the bead. Prices are reasonable (I paid $10 for both sets of markers, including shipping). Some rings are funky, some traditional, and each set comes in its own little tin:

Based on what I've seen (haven't used them yet), I am giving Hide and Sheep lace stitch markers five tinks on the tink-o-meter!

Diet Shmiet.

Wow -- there are a fair amount of you out there who feel the same way I do about coconut AND raspberry AND cake all in the same mouthful. So I had to make one today . . . so that I could give all of you pictures of the cake . . . yeah, that's the reason.

Crockpot Dyeing

I got a new crockpot at Wal-Mart the other day, one that can be used exclusively for dyeing. So of course I had to trot right home and try it out.

I had bought a pound of corriedale from an e-bay seller last week, so I decided to divide that up into 4-ounce bundles and dye one of them. So this was the setup:


Using the instruction in Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning (see book review, below), as well as some miscellaneous tips I'd found on the 'net, I began to play with color. I was thinking salmon, plum, and green:

Even looking at this now, I'm thinking: That green is too bright. But apparently the night I dyed this batch, I thought algae-chartreuse was a ducky color. I pre-soaked my yarn in the crock pot, and turned up the heat. It took about 25 minutes or so before the water was good and hot.

I began plopping dye in the water, using a little more green and a little less plum and salmon:

"Dinner!"

Using my handy, dandy, blue plastic dye spoon, I poked at the yarn so the dye would strike deeper. I tried not to mess with it too much, as I know this can lead to disaster. I let it cook for about 40 minutes, then dumped it in the sink:

huh.

This was not exactly what I intended, but I could live with it. I rinsed it, dried it between two towels, and hung it to dry. The next day:

Well, I am moderately satisfied. I'm not over the moon with joy over this roving, but neither am I gnashing my teeth in disappointment. I think it might have potential. Maybe. Tonight I'm spinning -- I will post photos later this week of the resulting yarn. Hopefully.