Hip Deep in Yarn and Loving It

My order of yarn from Spritely Goods finally arrived today (a pox on UPS for rescheduling the delivery -- it was supposed to have been here last Friday) and I've been reeling off 4 oz bundles. Oh, it's amazing, though, to hold these great bundles of wool! They are so soft and fresh that I want to use them as a pillow!

Although I lost out on my production time this past weekend, I was still able to make some progress on color experiments. I've achieved a very nice pale blue and light green, and I found a purple/gold/fuschia combination for autumn that absolutely melts my heart. I'm concentrating on light and bright colors for spring and summer right now. Autumn colors will come later.

I also started knitting with my skein of "Mardi Gras" and it's coming out striped! I'm so excited! It's better than I expected! Yiippppeee!!!!!

I'll try to post photos later this week. My camera has been loaned to the stationery shop for some things we needed done there. I just got it back today.

Clan Ross

These aren't exactly the Clan Ross colors. Those would be only red with blue and green stripes. This one has a brighter red and a deeper blue, plus some brown. But when it was all dyed I looked at it and immediately saw my mother-in-law's clan colors in it, so I named it for her.

Mardi Gras

I'm so proud of this mix. I think it's the best of the lot. I really got a great range of colors.

Tutti-Frutti

An odd skein (75% wool, 25% nylon) dyed from the leftovers of making color swatches, this one is knitting up in a fun array of colors.

Fire Lake

I like the rainbow hues of this one. On the far left is a brown and on the far right is a deep blue/purple.

Campfire

Full skein at the top of the image, and a nice detail of the red-into-yellow transition below. I'm not as crazy about this colorway, but several people have said it's their favorite of the bunch.

It's Worth the Purple Fingers

Here is yarn I dyed this past week, finishing drying at my office on Thursday a.m., thus saving me a trip home between work and sit-and-knit at my LYS.

Purple, Green, Blue, Fuschia Fingers!

Oh, my stars! Oh, my colors! I dyed two skeins last night; one was really good and the other was so-so. Acting on an idea, I dyed three skeins tonight and I think I came up with some amazing color combinations! I'm getting really good at blending colors, and my whole process is getting cleaner as I go.

With my earlier dye sessions I came up with about 48 color swatches with pre-determined mixtures. When I'm blending one color to another on the skein, I come up with some really awe-inspiring combinations: pale yellow greens, pale oranges . . . Oh, I can hardly wait for morning when I rinse them out!

Yes, that's what's been happening for two nights running: I come home, have a little supper, set up the table for a dye session, clean up after setting the yarn aside to "cook," then wait until morning to rinse, neutralize, and wash.

I must be crazy. But I'm happy crazy.

Purple Fingers

I've been dyeing swatches of yarn to see what I can come up with. It's a challenge at times. You'd think that mixing red and yellow in a 1:1 ratio would produce orange, but it doesn't. I'm trying a 2:1 (yellow:red) ratio. Red is powerful, and overpowering.

Projects Update

Projects on the New Year's List:

• Socks for Marky (need to do over)
  
• Socks for Deb (#1 near heel turn)
  
• Socks from Austermann Step yarn (#1 near the toe)
  
• Hoofle-Foofle Socks *Done • 1 Feb 2008*
  
• Cardigan (finish sleeves and button band)
  
• 8-3-5 Pullover for Marky (back done; front started)
  
• Scarf from bulky weight Silk Road *Done • 5 Jan 08*
  
• Scarf from 2 strands of Manos del Uraguay *Done • 10 Jan 08*
  
• Socks for Alice *Done • 5 Jan 08*
  
• Shrug for Mary (started back panel)
  
• Baby Blanket for Jorge y Liliana
  

These are the projects already waiting for me to start on:

• Socks for Joan
  
• Swag Socks sample for String of Purls
  
• Marjaana/Hermione pullover for myself
  
• Scarf (non-wool) for I-Pie