2.1 B

Don't worry... no more yarn! Just some pictures of Friday's... er... bargain

and my arm

2.1

Two point one. That's how many kilos of yarn I bought today (that's 4lb 10oz in old-speak Ü). I may be a bit out of control. That's 42 balls of Jaclyn, an acrylic/tencel blend the same (as far as I can tell) as Zhivago.

It was on sale!

I got 17 balls of dark red, 18 balls of brown, 2 white, 2 grey and 3 blue. They are very soft and very shiny. I put them in ziplocks and stored them under the bed. Next to the suitcase full of yarn. Hmm. (Hey, Kelly; you know that big bag I got when I was shopping with you this morning? I went back this evening and got another one Ü)

Of course, I have plans for all this yarn. Vague future plans. lol. I really must spend more time knitting on Friday night (when I go out sin niños) and less time stash-enhancing.

I am a few more inches into the Vivian's sleeve. I've done about 40 rows of it so far. Looks nice. Lots of moss stitch, which I love, though it's a pain to knit. I'm now doing the cables without a cable needle, thanks to the encouragement of Heidi, who's also doing a Vivian. It's going well, actually. No more cable needle behind my ear. hehe.

Real work again tomorrow. Nice to earn some mortgage money, but I'd better not stay up too late.

Tara sent me this. It's a nomination for a charming blog or something nice like that. I didn't feel obligated to pass it on. I might keep it a bit to help me feel less guilty for spending all my money Ü

Robin egg hat

I have a nice long cable now, so I can stretch this bit of Vivian out. It's wide enough, I think, but it seems short. Lol. Long rows take me forever...



So I whipped up this hat out of the choc mint dye job. Only used a third of it.

Then I capped the ends of the long circular, even though I've only got about 15 rows to go until I'm supposed to stop for a while, and cast on a sleeve. Hehe. Nice and simple pattern with a 46-stitch row.

Also did some blue dyeing, but I must resist the temptation to put dyeing on the blog. It's too quick and easy and FUN, and it will take over! I will post the dye jobs when I knit up the yarn!

In search of chocolate

Two packages have arrived so far. Today's was spare 6mm tips and a cable for my Knitpicks Harmony Interchangeable Circular needle set. The Set is delayed, as Knitting Inspiration's supplier is out of them at the minute. Tuesday's package was my yarn from Bendigo Woolen Mills. The 100% alpaca is SO soft. It might have to be a scarf. Anyway, I'm leaving that until last. Here's the first skein of 100% wool in 12 ply (bulky weight).

I laid gladwrap on the table and painted my vinegared skein with a teaspoon. I was going for browns with greens, using food dye. But this pink kept getting sucked out the side of the brown... and green on the other side. Weird.

I rolled it up and put it in a ziplock bag and boiled it a while.

Hmm. Where did all the brown go?

I re-blued it in the pot, but it came out weird purples and blue-greens. Not my favorite shades, but who knows how it will knit up?

What's this?:

I started thinking that Imitation Chocolate is a nice chocolate brown color, and probably has a high percentage of food dye in it. I tested a teensy bit, and it came out Cadbury Brown! So I hung my second long skein up (from the spice cupboard with pipe cleaners Ü) and chocolated the yarn. Did It Smell Good!

I dipped one end in for 5 minutes and hung it back up, so it would be light brown. Then I got bored of brown and cooked the other end in a pot of green.

Choc mint!

I was happy with these colors. Daisy and Barley were mystified.

But I think the sun took out a bit of the brown. It seems to have pinked up a little.

Drat. It was supposed to be boy colors. Looks like it will be things for me instead. Ü

I don't think I'll ever get a ball winder. I love doing it by hand. But I'll have to find a skein bobby thing one day. What are they called? I wonder if they sell that stuff at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Festival? I think we're all going this year. I planned to take the train, but Nathan seems keen to come, too. He's interested in building me a wheel (!) and wants to check them out. Alas, they seem to be in short supply in our little country town.

Well, it's 2:20am, and I am (insanely) not too tired. I love being up late because it's quiet from about 9pm. (Depending on Jasmine). But Byron will be awake in four-and-a-half hours, and I need to be able to drive to the library. He and his BF Zara are going to Toddler Storytime. How cute!

Waiting for the Mail

No pictures today, because I'm waiting...

Our kind PM, who thinks the economic crisis would be helped by us all spending money, gave us yet more spending money this last week. Now, we do have a mortgage, but felt obligated to do our Patriotic Duty... and spend some money.

What did I buy two seconds after the free money went into the bank?

One set of Knitpicks Harmony Interchangeable Circulars from Knitting Inspirations, along with some spare tips and cables.

800g of yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills. I got one (200g) ball of DK 100% Alpaca in "Natural Cream", a ball of Camille in "Freesia" (DK wool with 10% mohair and 5% cashmere) and 2 balls of (bulky weight) Rustic in "Aran". All that yarn is White. It's for dyeing!

One copy of "Whimsical Little Knits". I already have all the patterns (thanks to the online versions) but Ysolda's also shipping me a hardcopy. I can't wait. The pictures are so cute... I think I'll make everything. I already have plans for the Ishbel lace scarf in reds.

Come on postie!

Apple tree hat

I've decided that embroidery, whilst cheating, is quite a lot of fun, and much simpler than Fair Isle. But I couldn't be bothered doing all the apple trees in the pattern. Besides, they don't really stand out very well in Noro.
.

I was doing this one at work, and one of my friends there asked me what the yarn was. So I told her it was a mix of mohair and silk and wool. But she was giving it a very interested look, so I mentioned it was called Noro. "Oh, Noro Silk Garden!" she said straight away. "I made a jumper out of that one year." And she launched into a conversation about good yarn shops and where you could get good stuff, and the grumpy lady at the nearest LYS (in Mair St).

Funny. I've known her for years, and I had no idea she loved knitting, too. Ü

Knit in public, people!

Little distractions

A bit of purple

The "Oh, my niece's birthday is next Monday!" scarf, in Cleckheaton Studio Mohair.

Half a Noro Silk hat for Byron, top down for fun.

Cheap white wool, dyed with a spray bottle. Possibly a dress for Jasmine. See if you can pick where one ball ends and the next joins on...

Washing the homegrown wool (why is it looking dirtier?!)

So many distractions from the Vivian I was going to have done by April. Sigh. Maybe I'll have it done by the Bendigo Sheep and Wool thingy...