Dyeing to get coloring!

So last night was the first meeting of the season of the OKG, and what treat we had! The owner of Knit Knackers, one of our LYS’s, gave a very good demonstration (hard to do with 100+ ladies knitting and gabbling!) on how to dye 100 % wool using nothing more than Wilson cake icing dyes, a big pot, some vinegar and some cling wrap!

Very easy to do up in your own kitchen! You can even skip the boiling water stage and use your microwave instead! Who knew?!

My tablemates and I were quite excited by this demo, and when we all expressed similar interests in learning the skill more intimately, we resolved to have our own little dyeing party in one of our own kitchens. So some organizing will need to take place to get wool blanks and the other supplies.

It was really quite amazing to see all the variations that could be created with the same dye colors, depending on the method used in the application. For example, I did not know that the black Wilson dye color separates when added to hot water and if you do not stir it, it will produce beautiful mixes of greens and purples, but not black, that randomly saturates the wools.

There were so many examples of great “home-dyed” yarns that it was hard to contain myself!! I did however go and caress a few skeins to see the colors up close and personal, and later at home, fell asleep dreaming of steaming vats of color and soft woolly kaleidoscopes!

I can tell you, I am very, very, very much looking forward to planning our little “dye-party”!! And yes, Susan – you’ve on the exclusive invitee list – I made sure of that, since I know you’ve been wanting to do this too, for ever so long!!!

Knit on….

I’m thinking the unthinkable……..

I’m going to do it. The unthinkable, that is. I have finally decided after almost a year of agonizing. I’m going to frog it.
There I said it.
Out loud.
And in public.
There is no turning back.
Unless, of course, you know better than me.
I’m open to suggestion.

I have been thinking about the various comments of some of the designers I have had the pleasure of listening to live and in person over the last year, Lucy Neatby and Sally Melville for two, with regard to WIP’s that lounge in our stash. They all agree that rather than let those WIP’s lounge about from indecision, just frog it and move on, or change it into some else completely.

In my heart I know they are right, but honestly it is easier said than done! All that time and effort! Would it be wasted? Would I feel I’ve failed somehow? What if I didn’t have an alternate plan for the yarn – my ever-increasing stash needs no help! At least in the WIP stage I can say it is not technically stash yarn any more!

I have several items sitting there. Most of them I still love, and must continue to work on finishing, especially as they are winter items, and fall is upon us already.

But there is one; one that I love the yarn, and the idea, but I have grown away from the actual design, and my abilities have grown too, and now I would like something slightly different.

I have this in the final stages of completion, with only one shoulder to finish and I still love the color I choose:












But , I’ve changed my mind about the style. I would like something a bit more fitted through the waistline. I was thinking of knitting the ribbing much, much longer, like up to the bottom of my ribcage, then the top portion as shown.

But, here’s the catch – this vest is knitted from the waist ribbing up. I am not sure I can rescue the top and sacrifice the bottom and make new ribbing down?

Any thoughts?? Advice?? Words of wisdom?

Do I just frog it and start over?? Oh, the unthinkable!!!

Knit on…..

Busy, busy, busy.....

The days are flying by, and with just a few days of extreme humidity as the exception, Fall has arrived early and the mornings and nights are quite chilly. Good for sleeping, but makes for a rude awakening!

With the chilly days in mind, a friend asked if this could be made for her tiny little niece, and so I did. And I asked for and hope to receive soon an action shot of the recipient wearing her new poncho. The color is most accurate in this photo, a lovely dark pinkish purple - perfect outdoor wear for a little girl.

I am very pleased with the results as the pattern did not call for a hood, so I had to devise one, and calculate the appropriate size, having never seen the child. Apparently it fit well.

The yarn was new to me, Diamond Tempo Chunky, in colorway 355, a nice acrylic/wool blend, sturdy but not itchy, with good weight and drape, and gently hand washable, a nice feature for working moms.

I enjoyed knitting with this yarn, and have inadvertently ended up picking another 6 skeins of Diamond yarn up at my LYS for my next project (not telling what it is yet since I'm making it up as I go, but I will tell you it involves freeform cabling. Yikes !!!!).

Here - check out that applied i-cord, then picture me frantically doing i-cord in bed at 11:30 at night (I have to get up at 5:30am so be at least a little sympathetic would ya!) while the G-man snores obliviously beside me, so as to have it delivered in time.

I’ve almost finished another pair of OnLine socks, and another baby blanket, ripple crochet in boy-ish stash colors continues to grow too, with rows added daily.

Last week I hung out with the Ottawa Knitters Guild (OKG) at the Museum of Civilization and enjoyed hearing Sally Melville, who has recently moved to Ottawa and now calls this home, speak to the Vogue Knitting Tour group from New York City. I could listen to Sally all day – she really makes me sit up and think when she speaks about “Knitting as a metaphor for life”, which is her favourite subject!

Strangely the Vogue Tour Group did not put on any kind of presentation, either to promote the Knitting tour or Vogue Knitting Magazine in general. We (the many members of the OKG in attendance that evening) thought it very odd and quite disappointing, especially as many members had gone to great lengths to bring and display a large number of garments knitted from Vogue Knitting Magazine patterns over the years. It was generally thought that Vogue had missed a great marketing opportunity with all those Canadian knitters in attendance! We did however have a chance to speak with one of the tour escorts who has a dream job working at Vogue Knitting – lucky gal!

So, now I’m all caught up.

Knit on……..

Finally!

Today we received great news!

The first good news in a long time, and the timing couldn’t have been better, coming just as DD1’s optimism was showing serious signs of cracking from the long strain that she has been under. Today I dare to breathe deeply again. I feel a bit winded, as if I have been running flat out for a long, long time and now I can take a minute to catch my breathe.

There is tangible evidence, X-rays pictures to prove it is truly for real, that DD1 is winning her battle with Hodgkin’s! This week marks the exact halfway point of her chemotherapy program – 8 sessions done and 8 more to go.

At her halfway check-up at the hospital today she received the good news that the brick sized mass in her chest has shrunk smaller than a small egg! Amazing!!

We feel as if we finding our way out from the tall dark forest that we have been lost in for quite a while and finally able to see the sun light at the edge and we are giddy with renewed hope and determination and tears of happiness have been freely flowing throughout the afternoon!!

Knit on……….