The Mother Who Raised Me Is So Tight She Squeaks

As a relatively new knitter, I am still trying to answer that timeless question: "What the heck do I do with the ends of all these skeins?"

The Engineer suggests throwing them into the trash can.

Waste!

Sacrilege!

You know that within a week after throwing something out, it's going to be needed in a very urgent way. Besides, if my Mom was dead, it would make her spin in her grave. (Fortunately, she's alive and bouncing off the walls like a ping-pong ball.)

I do have some uses for the remnants:

• Tie up hair (or other things) when it's getting in the way.
  
• Use instead of ribbon when wrapping small packages.
  
• Keep some of the shorter left-overs in a baggie in my knitting bag -- especially cotton yarn, it's good for provisional cast-ons.
  
• Use as contrast color/texture in new projects.
  
• Test out new techniques/stitches instead of ruining part of a new skein.
  
• Stick in plastic bags and save forever - this is the most commonly done.

Came up with a new idea a couple of days ago in response to the Engineer grousing that I have been horribly remiss in sewing a button back on to his work shorts. Not that I don't have a very good excuse...

My sewing machine is in the basement along with all the rest of my sewing gear. To sew a button on his pants, I not only have to remember to do it in the first place, I have to remember to go downstairs and get the stuff to do it with and not get distracted before getting back upstairs to actually do it.

Then, of course, there's the problem of finding the right color of thread. Or to be more accurate when trying to match the Engineer's wardrobe, the right colorless of thread. He goes in for such stimulating shades as taupe, khaki, beige, putty, etc.

So I decided to make up an upstairs sewing box.

I had an empty stationary box with a magnetic clasp on the lid (way cool, that's why I bought the stationary, I liked the way the lid thunked shut) and filled it up with the necessaries. JoAnn's was selling thread for a dollar a spool, so I bought a selection of drab colors along with a box of straight pins, a packet of needles and a pair of embroidery scissors and put them into my little box. It fits into the drawer of my nightstand. I wanted a pin cushion too, but all of the ones at the store were too big to fit in my cool box.

Then the light bulb went off. I got out the remains from the Technicolor Dragon Skin Scarf. Though it was only a couple of yards, it was already rolled into a bitty center-pull ball. I went at it with my felting needle. With only one shallow stab wound and minimal cussing, I ended up with a lovely little pincushion.

Still looks like a ball of yarn, but it's one fairly solid mass; it won't unwind.

Spiffy, huh?

Continuing the Kool-Aid Saga

Kool-Aid yarn number two came out even nicer than number one, partially, I'm sure, because I much prefer saturated colors to pastels.

But what the heck to do with my masterpieces?

If Kate wasn't allergic to wool, I would probably have knit her something from it. She did drool just a wee bit over it. But it's 100% wool and kinda scratchy to boot. She's a friend, and I can't have her itching to death.

Then I remembered a vest I'd seen at one of the Yarn Quest stores; a vest I'd liked enough that I'd actually spent $5 on buying a copy of the pattern even though it would have cost $80 to knit using the suggested bulky alpaca yarn.

Hmmm... Maybe if I knit with strands of both yarns held together it might be bulky enough. Added advantage: knitting it with two different skeins should break up any potential pooling or striping.

Sounded good, so I knit a swatch. The gauge came out to about four stitches per inch instead of three, so I cast on 33% more stitches to compensate and away I knit.

And knit some more.

I really like the way the fabric came out; the colors meshed better than I'd anticipated. It sure as heck doesn't look like it was dyed with something as fluorescent as Kool-Aid.


I'm the queen of cutting it close. I ran out of the lighter yarn half way through casting off, so I spit spiced the other end of the dark yarn to the tail end of the light yarn and bound off with that doubled. After I sewed the side seams, I had all of about five feet of yarn left. (And, yes, I did hyperventilate more than a little while finishing up.)

Once the object was finished, it went onto the back of the best (and most obliging) model ever for documenting.

She even wore her own top secret sun glasses so I didn't have to Photoshop them in.
(Thanks KC, you're a pip!)

Lesson's learned:

• If you cast on 33% more stitches, you'd darn well better have more than 10% over the suggested yardage to start with.
• Holding one's breath and crossing all appendages can help.
• If I do it again with doubled worsted weight, I will cast on 200 stitches, go down one needle size in the middle section, make all of the sections a little bit longer, and have lots more yarn to start with -- say at least 66% over what's called for of both yarn strands.

Dried and Still Saturated

I like this darker dye job better than the pastel one from last month, but if I do it again will use still more packets of Kool-Aid. The one area that I thought might be insufficiently covered, where I added the impromptu purple grape, was not covered. Ah well, dye and learn. I will use maybe 20 or so packets of Kool-Aid next time, make the brown with food coloring and orange Kool-Aid and reinforce the blue. I'll also use a chopstick to gently smish the yarn around to increase the mechanical penetration of the edible dyestuffs.

Of course, the real test of the dye jobs' success will be in the knitting. Cross fingers.

The Blue Took

Drained the water off, rinsed and rolled it in an old towel to dry a bit.
Cross fingers that the color stays as intense once it's all the way dry.

Kool-Aid Dye Job #2

This time I used a skein of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Oatmeal shade instead of the creamy colored Natural and used a lot more Kool-Aid and food coloring. In fact, I was so generous with my sprinkling that I ran out of blue and green and used purple up one side of the second layer.

I did the first layer much as previously: poured a long "S" of brown food coloring from lower right to upper left corner and sprinkled two packs of orange Kool-Aid over top of it. Instead of straight blue Kool-Aid, I used blue food coloring diluted with white vinegar (and a pack of blue Kool-Aid thrown in for good measure) to outline the brown on one side and sprinkled green Kool-Aidon the other. Then I flopped the second half of the yarn over top and sprinkled on the rest of my blue and green Kool-Aid, for a total of two packets orange, six blue and five green.

Whereupon I decided I needed more colorant and mixed up some green food coloring with vinegar and poured it over the lower left quadrant. And decided it still looked a little scant and added two packs of purple Kool-Aid up the left edge - 'cause I was all out of blue and green.

About a gallon of very hot water with two packs of yellow Kool-Aid added (for brightness) was poured over the mess in the Pyrex pan.
I gently smooshed everything down and stretched plastic wrap over the pan. Then on to the cement for cooking in the bright sunlight all afternoon.

Can't wait to see how this skein develops. Cross your fingers for the blue coming out okay, but I think it looks pretty good so far...
P.S. The Engineer's in Saudi Arabia this week, so I get to do messy stuff. ; ) Didn't really make any mess at all anyway, I forgot to use gloves and this was all the more colorful my fingers came out:

Off Away Into the Wild High Mountains

It's time for the annual Idaho trip. The Engineer insists that we leave before daybreak tomorrow morning. I have my knitting bag packed.

Once I recover from traveling with my BelovedSpousalUnit, I will try to soothe out the rough spots on my soul by sitting on the creek bank and going with the flow.
E- you again in a week or so.

Interim Projects

So what's a knitter to do when she's got aches and pains in her shoulder?

Be chauffeured around by a fine and excellent friend while yarn questing -- such a loverly friend who wins the grand prize and insists on sharing.

Done. (July 25)

Go buy more yarn for when she gets better.

Done. (July 24)

Just for the heck of it, dye some yarn with Kool-Aid.

Done. (July 29)

Abandon the multicolor baby blanket that requires juggling five skeins of yarn.

Done, sadly and temporarily. Baby's due in September, so I'd better get back on it soon!
Knit on little projects that don't strain the shoulder.

A. Napkin rings - eight down, four to go. B. GoatGuy's scarf - half done. C. The Snakelace - knitting's done, now to make a head and tail for it. (The head it has now, I drew and pasted on in Photoshop.)

Learn a new technique: entrelac. Knit a little something for my generous friend out of one of the prize yarns she shared with me.

Working on this one.

And last, and definitely least, ignore the blogging.

Bad Blogger!