Divided.

Right now, my knitting focus is divided between a bunch of little projects. I'm starting to get anxious to start something new, but I'd like to actually finish something. I have so many works in progress, it's frustrating.

So anyway, here is a progress picture. Not very exciting. I'm going to try to focus on getting some thing done so that I can start something big, like a sweater, and focus on that. I'm feeling the need for knitting monogomy for some reason.

WIPs lounging together. On the floor. Haha...

I guess that's it for now. Go outside! It's beautiful out there. I went golfing for the first time yesterday. It was only 9 holes and it took forever, but it was pretty fun. I can get a couple really sweet shots, but I have no control or finesse. I suppose that comes with practice. Okey. Have a great weekend. ♥

Word.

It's funny how quickly this....

can become this...

My friend, Christa, asked for a green hat with royal blue beads and I churned out another Odessa in a weekend. I love the beads! It's a really cool color combo. And since I was making Christa something, I whipped up some fingerless gloves for Kaitlin! They are made from wonderfully soft alpaca... I think I need to make some for myself to keep my hands warm in the office.

Warm fingerless gloves.

We went out to lunch in our hand-knit regalia and Eric was kind enough to take a portrait. Handknits for everyone! And Christa & Kaitlin seemed to really love their hat and gloves. Yay!

Word. We did this pose so that Kaitlin didn't feel silly showing off her gloves. :)

I made a trip to the West Coast this weekend to explore a new job opportunity and I was able to start a couple projects. I started my self-dyed, self-striped socks and they are turning out how I planned for them to be! How about that?!

These colors remind me of something... I can't quite place it...

And I started my Malabrigo scarf which is so lusciously soft that I wish I could wrap my whole body in the beautiful colors and hibernate for a month. Yes. ♥

Another "My so-called Scarf." Love this pattern.

Fruity!

I had some fun dying yarn the last couple of days. Here's a bunch of photos from the experiment.

First I wound a looooooong hank around a door knob and a lamp. It ran almost the whole length of my apartment!

Looooooong hank.

Then I marked the color repeats with acrylic yarn, tying a different color ever 18" or so to deter any tangling, and soaked the whole thing with a bit of wool wash for 15 min.

Soak.

While the yarn was soaking, I mixed the Kool-aid. Two packages of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, two packages of Lemonade, and four packages of Pink Lemonade.

Koolaid.

Primary colors?

The yellow dye exhausted quickly, so I had to use it's jar to add more pink. The yellow dangled in limbo while the other colors continued to soak up dye.

Dyeing.

Here is a comparison of the pink dye before and after. The yarn sucks the color right out!

Exhausted.

I rinsed the yarn afterwards, but it still smells of fruitiness.

Rinse.

Strung out to dry...

Dry.

And here it is wound into a skein. Now... the colors are not what I expected. I wanted a pale pretty pink. Not a electric melon pink. The other colors are pretty much what I expected so that's cool... As I look at it more and more, it grows on me. It's sorta retro summery colors. Ah well.

Colors.

When I was winding the yarn into a skein after it dried, the strand broke pretty much in the middle of the hank! I think I must have snipped the yarn when I was cutting off the acrylic ties. But luckily, it broke pretty close to the middle! One ball for each sock. :)

Lucky break!

And that was my adventure in Kool-aid dyeing. It was pretty fun, but I think I would more enjoy professional dyes... Of course, those are not edible and much more potent... sooooo yeah. More safety precautions would have to be taken. Ok. Have a good night. I'm off to knit. ♥

I have a problem...

Hey! This weekend I was in Pittsburgh to work. It was a drag, but that's ok... I'm used to it. In fact, this month will mark my 5th year in the Air National Guard. It's crazy how the time has flown. Only one year to go. Anyway, on to the knitting.

I had the opportunity to visit 2 knit shops in downtown Philly last week: Rosie's Yarn Cellar and Loop. I bought yarn. I cannot be stopped. I bought some Cashsoft DK for a proper Odessa with beads. I love the pink color (Bloom) with the pearly beads. It's so freaking girly.

Another Odessa with beads!

I also bought some Cashsoft DK to make an Odessa for a friend (hi Christa!). She requested a Chartreuse color with royal blue beads which is a lovely combination. Oh. I also bought some Malabrigo in Little Lovely (in the lower right hand corner) because it is the softest wool I have ever felt. And the color? It's pink...

More yarn acquisition.

I couldn't decide which royal blue beads Christa would like the most so I'll let her decide.

Which beads?

I also bought some Koigu... but that's for my mom... she made me buy it! I swear!

And finally. I have a problem with my Jaywalker which has caused all progress on the sock to grind to a halt. It just doesn't fit my foot right. The ankle and heel fit well, but the foot is a bit loose and the toe has these weird wing things. I have come to the conclusion that I need to rip back to the gusset and do a few more decreases so the foot is a little more narrow. I might also do a short-row toe, as seen on my sock to the left, because it fits my toes very well. Now, I just need the courage to rip out the whole foot and reknit. Which is kinda depressing, but necessary.

I have a problem with the toe!!!

Eric is in Asheville, NC mountain biking for the entire week! Lucky boy. I can't wait to take vacation. I really need to travel. Anyway, Eric's absences means I'm sure I will have lots of knitting time this week... *sigh* ♥