Check Me Out!!!

I am loving dyeing yarn...and my apartment can't support all the prettiness, so I set up an etsy shop!

Check it out :)

So which one???

I'm probably going to experiment more...but, which one of these three would you like as your Dye-O-Rama swap yarn? (click for bigger)1. Tums 100% merino, 2. Sherbet 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon, 3. Watermelon 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon
Take My Poll

Fruity Goodness!

The house is full of the smells of fake fruit and Eucalan tonight, as I type with colored fingers. Finally, I had time and all the necessary materials for dye-o-rama! I'm in the WTF group, so I decided that kool aid was about my speed. Started yesterday, and I'm addicted! I'm nor sure anything I've done yet is worthy of my DOR pal...but, if you are reading this and like any of these colorways, please tell me!

Day 1, Sunday:
I ordered 2 skeins of 75% superwash merino/25% nylon from Beth at Socks That Fit. This yarn is a dream. It soaks up the dye so fast, the dye bath ran clean before microwaving! The red is two packets of fruit punch, and the green is arctic green apple. I call this one Watermelon. It's really the colors of the skin and fruit of a watermelon!


Buster watches patiently as the yarn swings from the rod...(heh, i said rod)

still wet, i couldn't wait to see it skeined up!

and a closeup!

twisted ala Purl Soho...

reskeined!

all dry and ready for the custom wrapper...

Day 2, Monday:
Today, I received a package from Marie with some "practice yarn" (AKA Knitpicks). I used lemonade, artic green apple and grape. The purple raaaaaaaannnnn....the yellow got overwhelmed by the marathon grape, but the green came out swimmingly. Compared to the superwash, this yarn don't stand a snowball's chance in hell at holding color! I call this one Tums. I think the colors stand for the candy flavored tablets I will need to chew after dyeing with Knitpicks!

Tum t-t-t- TUMS!!!

I had to go back to the superwash...couldn't end the night like this...so here's one more: 4 packets of pink lemonade, 2 lemonade and 2 cherry. Aahh. Much better!

more swinging yarn!

Clockwise left to right: Watermelon, Rum from the Dominican Republic (Thanks Jess!), Tums, Sherbet.

More tomorrow! I didn't even get to tell you about my weekend, and that I met Monica at stix-n-stitches, where we had a bit of stash enhancement, started Fad Classic, Debbie had the baby and I'm still not done with Grumpecue!

White Trash Party?

Has anyone ever had a white trash party?

Both Furry and I are turning 30 in the next 2 months (GASP!) and I had the bright idea to have a WT party once we're in and settled in the house.

Any feedback? Would you all come if you were invited?????

Who let the cat out of the bag?

Oh, nobody did, because he's still in there! Just like these cats.Update on Buster: he's getting on just fine - and likes to hide out in the Bloomie's bag. No comments about the messy floor please...I need a weekend at home to clean!

I never got to post this, since I've been away like every weekend, and busy at work. April 28, we went to New Hope, PA for a friend's bachelorette weekend. It's such a cute town, with lots of trendy shops, and even a kitchen supply store where I decided I needed to stock up for Dye-O-Rama!
Here are my dyeing utensils...I loved the mustard squeeze bottles! So kitchy...and only a dollar each. Now, to my DOR pal, I'm still waiting for my yarn to come in from Socks That Fit, then we'll get to dyeing!
In other bag-related news, I swapped some good ol' Brooklyn Handspun for this cute sock bag made by fellow NJ blogger Trek! She calls this fabric "Starry Night"...so here's the obvious connection with my dining room artwork ala Van Gogh. Stop by her blog to check out her custom fabrics and request one of your very own!
It even has this cute teddy bear applique (and dons my Knitters without Borders pin I bought when the Yarn Harlot came to town).

Not much in knitting news to report, but on the way down to a college roomie's wedding in Baltimore, I decided to use some of my newly acquired Brooks Farm Limited Edition 2 from MSW to make, yes, an Anthropologie Capelet. Even I'm not sick of them, folks. I just didn't get a chance to finish it. It would have matched my dress so perfectly...but I was 2 bind off rows away from completion...

Is anyone still knitting this? If so, I've decided to set up a reader gallery. Email me and I'll add your pic!

Dye-o-Meme-a-Rama

For my dye-o-rama pal:

Specific to this swap:
Your favorite colors?
Pink, Green, and cools with cools, warms with warms

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)?
For socks? Sport I think…

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
Multicolored!

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? Self striping is really fun. But I love variegated too!

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)?
Absolutely!

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it?
Peonyknits. HAHA…I’m such a selfish brat.

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along?
I collect hand-dyed yarn. And the challenge of learning a new skill.

General yarn/fiber questions:
Have you dyed yarn/fiber before?
Only once – at Marie’s. I learned from the best!

If so, what’s your favorite dye and method?
We hand painted. I’d like to learn immersion dyeing, and self striping.

Do you spin?
Nope.

Have you knit socks before?
Yep.

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too?
I haven’t used much of my sock stash yet. I’m not planning on strictly using it for socks though.

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Brooks Farm, Sundara, Vesper, Brooklyn Handspun, Sweet Georgia, Scout’s Swag.

What yarn do you totally covet?
Socks that Rock. (Sorry Yahaira). I’ve never been able to get my hands on any to see what all the buzz is about.

Favorite patterns?
Glampyre, Saunshine, Phildar

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
Lady Eleanor. I already own the yarn for it though.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
Susan Bates circs. Although for socks, I’m a big fan of my Addi’s. Magic loop baby!

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:
Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?
Sour skittles, twizzlers.

What’s your favorite animal?
My kitties.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?
2 cats, currently. Buster, 9 years old. Very sick. Niblet, 6 years old. Healthy!

If you were a color what color would you be?
Azalea.

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s).
My variegated pink, yellow and khaki Banana Republic diagonal striped button down. I wish it fit me.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
Peony. Definitely.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.
“All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer by the stars.” – Rush (the band, NOT Limbaugh)

Do you have a wishlist?
Yes. Here.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?
I can’t wait to see all the hand dyed wonders!!!

Maryland Sheep and Wool

I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the fun we all had at Maryland this weekend...and yet, here is another account. Carrie came in from NYC on Saturday, and we made it a spidery outing. My Furry was kind enough to drive us down from NJ. On the way, we picked up his sister in Delaware so she could join the fun! We got there a bit late for Cara's meetup, so we didn't get to meet our spiderly friend Sandra, or Mama-E, or Trek to name a few I was hoping to run into), but I did get to meet both my March (Amanda Cathleen) and April (Suzanne) Project Spectrum Postcard Pals!! How ironic is that? Suzanne, Me and Amanda Cathleen on the lawn

And what's a Project Spectrum meetup without its creator, Lolly? Here we are in front of the Brooks Farm tent (where else would we be?) I really love Brooks Farm. Can you tell? I got a few skeins of the Limited Edition 2 (can't even find it on their website) Even a natural one to dye...but not for Dye-O-Rama. (It's not sock yarn...sorry DOR pal!)After the shopping, we had to eat! (Ok, we ate before too...I didn't want you to see me pig out on corn dog AND cheese fries!) Here's furry chowing on his favorite...FUNNEL CAKE!! Ain't he so cute?

Mmmmmm.....Funnel Cake... (Ala Homer Simpson)

Then, once we were fed and watered (again), we watched the animals eat...Llamas and Alpacas, but surprisingly, we didn't take any pics of the sheep. Maybe it should become the Maryland Alpaca and Llama Festival?

On the way back, we knitted, slept, and sang to 80s hair bands...Sorry, no photographic representation of said tomfoolery. But here we are displaying our haul!

Carrie and I at the end of a long day!

It was great meeting you all! To be on a yarn diet till Rheinbeck!

Appreciation for Knitbloggers!

I just wanted to thank everyone who commented or emailed in the past few days about my kitty Buster. He feels really loved right now by all of you. He's not doing well according to his blood levels (for anyone who has experienced feline CRF, his BUN is >180 and creatinine 13.5) but he's eating and is in good spirits. Thank you so much for all your well wishes!!! Knitters are so awesome! I can't wait to meet so many wonderful knitbloggers at MSW on Saturday!

Speaking of knitters being awesome...Scout and Suzanne are the two awesomest!

Scout just started selling her hand painted sock yarn here, so I wondered...could she custom dye me a self-striping colorway??? COULD SHE! Working together to find the right shades based on the combination of pink, yellow and green, Sweet Pea was born!

Here she is on the cute tissue paper (I think it sort of matches her website!)
and the yummy smelling insense she came packaged with!

Our heroine, ready for her closeup!

The colors came out perfectly! Thanks Scout! What she will become shall be revealed in due time! (yes, sweet pea is a she)

Today, after a long day at work, the vet and the dentist, I came home to this lovely postcard in my mailbox, from my April Project Spectrum Postcard Pal Suzanne! Yes, April is over, but we had a "special agreement" that late is ok (I just sent hers out yesterday...) Thanks Suzanne! It's so happy and springy, and I really needed the sunshine today!

Springy Orange and Yellow painted flowers! So pretty!

Lastly, (Lisa this is for you), I FINALLY received my Asparagus from Knitpicks for Eunny's Deep V Agyle Vest. Now that it's 80 degrees, do I want a 100% merino wool vest??? Well, it can be worn in the fall, right?

Knitpicks Merino Style in Asparagus and Petal

That's it for tonight! See you at the festival on Sat! Save me some STR!

Untitled

Warning: this is not my usual blog post. Today we got some sad kitty news. Buster, our 9 year old domestic long hair was diagnosed with feline kidney disease. It’s a common condition in cats, yet chronic and irreversible. He’s pretty far along now, his left kidney function is almost completely gone and his right one is picking up the slack. He’s severely anemic, underweight and has no appetite, yet he drinks (and pees!) like a fish. Buster is sweet, yet very strong. Not once did he let us know that he was sick – he bears his burdens with grace. He never complains. Although there is no recovery in sight, we are trying to help him gain weight with a special diet, and regain some of his strength with electrolyte injections.

We have had the pleasure of loving Buster since 1999, when he came to us from an unhappy family. At first, he was timid and shy, only speaking up when he was scared or hungry. He has grown to be a very important part of our family. Chris and I couldn’t imagine life without him.
When we took him to the vet on Saturday, they did a “geriatric profile” for poor Busty. Chris was shocked that he has grown old enough to be considered geriatric…His entire life flashed before our eyes in what seems like a single moment. He’s lived in three apartments with us, endured lazy life with student Chris, rejoiced at the birth of a baby brother kitten who suffered major trauma, yet played the role of big brother flawlessly. All the while, Buster never faltered.

Now, we have to consider the future without our furry friend. Moving into a new house and children are part of our future. Buster may not be so lucky.
We plan to cherish every moment, but not let him suffer. He deserves to be peaceful. I just hope it doesn’t take him too quickly.

Thanks for listening.