I decided to document my first attempt at dyeing self-striping wool. It was fun. It took for-freakin’-ever, so I’m very grateful I had the common sense to choose a small project — one of the Three Tams — so it was a sane yarn amount to dye up…only 50g/approx 112yds, and it still took an hour.
And was totally worth it. I’m calling the colourway “Self-Portrait” because if I were yarn…this would be me.
Grab some popcorn and a cold one, and enjoy!
…I would humbly suggest you NOT partake of the really, really good eggnog beforehand.
While it might help you relax about it all, it makes reading charts very, very difficult.
That is all.
Thanks to all who responded to my last post about my obsession.
While view blog stats, I noticed an amusingly large number of people found my blog whilst googling for “knit christmas tree”…which got me wondering.
Could it be done?
How would you, personally, knit or hook a christmas tree?
Personally, I think from the top down, in the round. Pairing increases and decreases to shape the points, of course. Maybe in a wool/mohair blend, so it could be fulled for additional shaping…you know, something like Peace Fleece?
Not, of course, that I’ve given ANY thought to the matter… 
…but just imagine the embellishing opportunities.
And, no shed needles on my carpeting.
You know, maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea…
…you have given more than a passing thought to knitting a slipcover for your sofa. (Double points if you’ve gotten as far as drawing schematics and gauge swatching.)
… upon seeing ANYTHING your first thought is, “Could I knit that?” Houseplants? Carseat covers? Christmas tree? Hmm….
…when a non-knitter tries to engage you in small-talk, you’re left scrambling for something non-yarny to say.
…you can knititask. Definition: knit while eating…reading…playing…bathing…cuddling…
…you’ve considered having another child simply because yours are growing out of baby sizes, and you simply HAVE to knit those adorable little shoes…
…when your Significant Other sees you WITHOUT knitting in hand, they ask if you are feeling alright.
…your first thought in the morning (after coffee) is “what am I going to knit today?”
…you fall asleep drawing mental schematics of knitting designs.
…you read this list and are thinking, “So…what’s the problem?”
I had this sweater lurking the back of my closet. Just a store-bought, used-to-be-my-favourite, hasn’t-seen-the-light-of-day-in-years sweater…so I thought, “Hey, let’s rip it apart and see what we can make of it!”
I’ve gotten as far as removing the neckline (HUGE improvement) and was able to rip out the seams in the sleeves up to a 3/4 length. Unraveling from the wrist up is NOT going to work, though, so I will probably put in a lifeline and then cut the knitting and frog downwards.
I’ll post a pic when it’s finished…even if I destroy it!
OK, so it’s only 10pm. But when you’ve got four kids ages 5 and under — anything past 9pm is officially “late”. Just FYI.
I’m on a double-yarn high tonight…have a 4oz skein of freshly dyed BFL rinsing in the sink and I am positively giddy about how the colours came out — a yummy red, chocolate brown, and black.
My friend Irene requested that I take step-by-step pictures during the kettle-dyeing process — I’ll post those tomorrow. It’s an amazing thrill to me to watch the initial pools of colour slowly evolve into something beautiful as the kettle heats the yarn. And it’s always a relief when it doesn’t end up a big muddy mess.
The other half of my yarn high is from a pair of longies I’m knitting up for Laura. I’m calling that colourway “Oceanic” and the blues and soft green are so soothing. I’m quite pleased with how it’s knitting up — a nice mix of colour, no pooling — the skeins took colour differently so I am switching between the two. Going to be a lot of loose ends to weave in on those longies! 
But there is something immensely rewarding about seeing the longies start to evolve out of yarn that I dyed myself…there’s a lot of love that goes into these projects.
And now I need to go hang up the yarn to dry…then it’s off to sleep to dream of yarn.
What, doesn’t everybody?
