Buying and Dyeing...

So I keep talking about the Stash Enhancements - and have come to the realization that I just don't need a whole lot more until I start actually knitting up some that I have - so these are my latest - and last - purchases for a bit.

The Colinette Jitterbug Sahara, Yarn Ahoy's Royal Peacocks (Just got this before she went on vacation!), and Lazy Perry Ranch's "Skye".

I love the Lazy Perry Ranch's yarns - she really has an eye for color. I love the way she matches the yarn to the colors in the picture - like the goat for this yarn.



So right now - with the exception of my yarn buying excursion during our local group's retreat this weekend - I'm only buying blanks.

After my dyeing class at Simpatico - I'm hooked. I love the dyeing - watching the colors appear and meld together to form beautiful yarns like I find on Etsy - it's so much fun!

Using water, vinegar and Wilton's cake icing colors and a little microwave magic, I was able to turn these



into These:



The first 2 were done in the class at Simpatico Yarns in Bedford - and the third one I did as a stress relief project this weekend. I think I like it best! It is definitely more purple than the picture shows - I should have taken that pic in natural light, too.

I've cast on with the blue/green yarn on the left - and this is how it's turning out.



So far - I'm loving it!!

I have a SUPER Secret Pal...

...well, she's not so secret since I saw her drop it off - but my DFW Chicks with Sticks group has had a neat swap this February - and I got gifted GOOD - from the Knitting Fairy herself!!



Beautiful hand dyed yarn, a row counter bracelet, a Cherry Tree Hill sock pattern called Brickyard Joe Socks (which is so funny just 'cause they are lacy socks called Brickyard Joe!), a dark chocolate bunny* (YUM!) and one of those cool tool bags that I've been wanting!!

And you see those cute little things at the bottom???



PENGUIN Stitch markers!!!

I love Love LOVE it all!!

Thanks, Knitting Fairy! For being the Best (Not so) Secret Pal ever!!


*I walked into the house with a bag FULL of yarn - some that I'd bought and some that I'd been gifted - and all Alek said was, "Is that CHOCOLATE???" That's my man!!

Ruby's Slippers...

Ok...well, they are really Ruby's socks...


and a sock for her iPod Nano to match her real socks.

Last month I had so many FO's that this month seems so paltry - although I did finish the blankie...

I guess I either had more time last month or just was closer to the end of a bunch of things than I am this month.

Anyway...this may be it for this month...

SEX* after work., a Few WIPs and a Haiku

Gee - can that sound any more dirty?? Sex and W(h)ips? I can just see my Mama reading this and having her eyes bug... :)

Anyway...Left work this afternoon and actually had the car with me downtown so I made a quick detour to the Shabby Sheep for a little

Stash Enhancing eXpedition.

These lovely items came home with me...


The lovely Sock yarn is from Madeline Tosh. She's put some things on consignment with the Sheep and they have evidently flown out the door! This was the next to the last skein - and I almost brought both home (different colorways)... but this one is called "Fig and Plum." The other two skeins are Manos del Uruguay - I want to do "My So-called Scarf."

Another addition to the Stash came from winning my DFW Chicks with Sticks group's January Finished Objects Contest. This lovely skein of Socks That Rock "January One" colorway is now safely ensconced in my stash...and I love it!



And now for the Works In Progress...

One finished and one in progress sock - my 2nd real pair - using Regia. They are for a friend at work - she wanted socks for her birthday.

(Lise, tell the Big Texan I'm officially placing a sock blocker order!!)

Also Sock #1 of the Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy using one of the patternways from Sensational Knitted Socks.


and the Beads of Earth Scarf (from Scarf Style) using Classic Elite Wool BamBoo elicits this Haiku.

Love the yarn and love the beads
Hate Stockinette Stitch
Will I ever finish this?

Naming the Creations...

Ok...Lise said I needed to name my yarns...

The Pink and Purple - I'll call Eeyore.

The blue/green/Purple/Black - let's just call "Bruised"

And the one that I love - the one with the Yellow - I had already named
It's Tequila Sunrise. Looks just like the drink to me.

A Day to Dye For...

Had such a blast yesterday with some friends - dyeing yarn for the first time...

We used Easter egg dyes and tye-dye dyes...I had bunches of yarns to dye - and forgot one big skein that I had bought for this purpose...oh well, enough for next time!

The one on the left is Henry's Attic 2-ply wool - using tye-dye dyes. I loved the colors when they were wet - but when they faded upon rinsing - not so much.

The middle ones were some random 90% Angora skeins dyed with Easter Egg dye - used blues, greens and purples - and black (mixing all of the tablets into one glass.

Both of those two attempts will probably be re-dyed to see what I can get out of them - especially the angora - if it ever dries.

The one on the right is my favorite. It's the KnitPicks Bare sock yarn - which, unfortunately, is only enough for one sock - but will probably try to do this What Knot scarf with it just to see what it does. On this one, I used the Easter Egg yellows, oranges and reds and love the results - even though I usually hate yellows.

I'm taking a class at Simpatico on the 25th and can't wait to see what all they have in store for us there!

My new favorite phrase...

Whenever One Door Closes, Another Opens ,

Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway

The One You Never Thought Would Be an FO...

A long time ago (July 2006) in a far away land (ok, in my living room), I started a baby blanket for a friend who was adopting a little girl from Guatemala.

We knew the journey to getting Angelena home would be a long one - but I never realized all that I would go through to get the blankie done.

Ellie had seen a picture of a blankie on my desk and said, "That's what I want!" So I started it out - in her colors.

I cast on way too many stitches - and it was obvious that it was going to be huge from the get-go...but I thought "Oh, this won't take much time - after all, it's practically all garter stitch with a few K2tog's thrown in for good measure."

Anyone ever tell you that garter stitch is boring??? If not, let me enlighten you...

But I trudged on...knitting away. And then, tragedy struck. I was on vacation in Branson and we were sitting in the cabin and all of a sudden a dirt dobber came into the room. I am deathly afraid of flying wasp-like creatures and my hero of a hubby went to kill it.

Well, he tried. What he did was swat it towards me and the only thing that would save me was this blankie - which went flying into the air - and off of the needles...looking something like this in the aftermath...



But, I trudged on...got it back on the needles and started again - here and there.

Angelena came home to the States in October and I still had more rows than sense to finish this thing...so it went into that bag...

You know THAT bag - the one where projects go to die...where they go never to be seen again?

But, lately, I've felt that call - the plaintive whine of the UFO in THAT bag...and a challenge from one of my knitters groups to get THAT project out and, taking 15 minutes a night, finish it in February - made me get it out...

And you know what? I discovered that I had so little to go on it...I did more than my fifteen minutes a night - and last night - during the waning moments of the Super Bowl - I was able to Bind off - leaving only five gajillion ends to weave in -

But I did that tonight...and Ta Da!!! It is done - off the needles - and soon, will be off to warm up Angelena...which, when she moves to California, hopefully, she and her mama will know that Auntie Liz in Texas does love her...





For Size Reference - Sabine (a half pug and half miniature schnauzer who has been recently bathed but is in need of a major hair cut) did the honors of standing near the blankie so all can see the monstrosity that it is...