Joy of Yarn

A Productive Few Days

Well I only had three days off from work, but I got everything, and more, done that I wanted to do. This has got to be a record for me. I've been wanting to dye yarn since the February break and I finally got some done.

Bare in the pot

Purples and Blues

 

Hanging to Dry

I've been experimenting with my methods of dying. I've been finding that I'm enjoying knitting socks with tone-on-tone yarn. So this is Kona Super-Wash yarn dyed using the hot pot method. The yarn is yummy, soft as can be, with a tad thicker gauge than fingering weight. I mixed the colors separately and poured them on the yarn when it reached 190 degrees. I think it took a bit spotty but it will be interesting to see how it knits up. The yarn now hangs on a tree behind our house and hopefully will be fine to stay there overnight.

In the pot now is Blue Faced Leicester in a fingering weight. It is much thinner but just as beautiful. This yarn was dyed using a very different method. It sits in the pot now coming to room temperature. I'll have pictures of it in my next post.

We also got our Sugar Snap Peas planted during these days off and started Heirloom Tomato seeds. I have many unusual varieties and I'm eager to see how they work out. We're enriched our vegetable beds with compost and manure. Now we just have to wait until mid-May to plant. I always planted Sugar Snap Peas when my boys were younger and I'd smile as they plucked the pea pods off the vines and into their sweet little mouths.

I also got to take a walk with Chloe. The weather has been very cool. Today was a pretty sunshiny day but the chill was still in the air. The woods are showing some signs of Spring though, as the Skunk Cabbages poke their heads up above the wetland areas.

 

 

And I was fortunate as the swans were out today.

Peeps!

Happy Easter! 

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Puppies

Let's see. There's been some knitting done. In fact, I finished the Autumn socks..though there are no pictures yet. They feel yummy though and fit tightly like I like them. Today I wore a pair of socks that I made a while ago from Mountain Colors Mountain Goat. They are beauties with Lorna's Laces toes and heels, but they are way larger than I make socks now. I realized a while ago that I like them to be very form fitting and not loose at all as it seems they all loosen up a bit as they are worn.

I've been off since Thursday and it was a rough week. Monday my little girl student, my ray of sunshine who I adore, tried to choke me. Now it wasn't a forceful kind of choke. I mean she IS small, but she pulled me back and forth as she placed both hands on my shoulders by my neck, and as one of my boy students said, I just went "Boing Boing". So of course all the boys are saying that they are going to protect me now. Who says chivalry is dead? It was a bit jarring but it's funny when my kids go off. Not funny in a ha ha way but funny/odd. They do it all in slow motion so you can see what exactly they are going to do. 

Anyway, the days were well deserved and I've accomplished much on my list of things to do. My mammo/sonno went fine, thank goodness. And yesterday I got to see my girlfriend's new puppy. This is a puppy from the same lineage as Chloe. Actually, this is Chloe's sister's daughter's child.

This is Chloe and me:

The stain on my elbow, in case you were wondering, is not really a stain. I must have had a really good tasting elbow as Dugan immediately began to bond with said elbow.

More of Dugan with his mommy.

The reddish golden, Buford, is Chloe's brother from another litter, meaning they have the same mom. Mom, Fire, was red just like Buford. The woman is MaryAnn, Dugan and Buford's mommy. This picture was a hard one for us to get. Imagine trying to get three Goldens to stay still for a picture. Now this was taken in MaryAnn's carpet store, the very same place where getting Chloe became a great idea. Shortly before this picture was taken, we had three Goldens tearing around the store. Shortly after this picture was taken, a woman customer came into the store. MaryAnn said, "I hope you like Goldens!" and the woman replied, "Well actually I'm allergic to dogs!" So there went our fun. I high-tailed it out of there, and Buford and Dugan were placed in the back of the store.

And this is Dugan and Chloe. He sure is light, isn't he? He is just such a beautiful dog!