Fruits of the drink

The reading homework had been done ages ago and I reckon I can't go wrong with Knitty. Still it took so long to get started. Perhaps it was the fear of messing things up and not getting the colour schemes I wanted that had me procrastinating. There really isn't an artistic bone in me I'm afraid. The Kool-aid, I've had for a while but Wiltons icing dyes, paint brushes and ketchup bottles took weeks to put together although they were easily available at the local Mall.

Anyway, been there, done it and I'm more confident now so can't wait to start on the 4 skeins of sock yarn from Knitpicks I've ordered for hand painting.

The tools

Yarn : 200 gms, 7 ply, 100% wool, natural colour

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1. Kool aid- lemon lime and cherry (10 m)

2. Kool aid cherry, tropical punch, lemon lime and Wiltons sky blue (100 m)

3. Wiltons brown, Kool aid lemonade and leftovers (92 m)

It's good to know that they're non-toxic food dyes. The yarn is cooked in the microwave oven while leftover mixes are kept in the fridge and can be reused.

A word of warning though, to those who're thinking of venturing along this path. It is addictive and I'm totally hooked. If you're a soft drinks junkie, this hobby could be the 'cure', as the sweet smell can be off putting after several hours of painting!

It's time for another pair of socks! Socks -2 with Knitpicks - Dancing yarn on 2mm circulars. Pattern is from Cat Bordhi's book.

An old, old friend

We finally met over the weekend, this 27 year old FO and I. It was mentioned a few posts ago here. It has kept well except that the white acrylic has turned a uniform creamy colour over the years. Strange, I can't remember much about it except that the pattern is definitely very familiar. Other than that, no flashes of the past, not where I knitted it mostly or how long it took.

Kenny's baby wrap (1979)

Yarn : acrylic

Size : 55" x 36"

Not bad, not bad at all, if I may say so. The body was knitted quite nicely but the border, rather disappointing. One of the longer sides looked as if I had ran out of yarn or I was too impatient to knit a few more repeats. It's probably the latter! Of course I would never let that happen now!

Fushia Gable saw a lot of progress this week and should be done in a few days. The collar does look like it needs a row of crochet or garter stitch to take out the slight curl though.

Cozy is about 25" in length now but my Feather and Fan stole has been neglected for a while. I'm contemplating making it into a scarf, the alpaca is so soft, I think it'd look good tucked inside a jacket and jumper.

Fushia Gable

And so, there I was on Saturday, miserable with a sore throat and a bad cold, pondering if I really wanted to cast on DH's jumper with the sombre brown Rowanspun.
Life was getting more miserable by the hour. A pounding head, non-stop sniffles and the chaos at Heathrow airport unfolding on BBC World were enough to make me want to crawl into bed and hide.
I kept wondering what if passengers were to find out their flights were on the list of targeted planes, would they ever fly again? Would they live their lives differently after this?

I definitely needed some cheering and went for the more uplifting Fushia Bendigo yarn instead. Green Gable as Office Casual 3.

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In the meantime, the pair of leg warmers for a colleague's daughter is completed.

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Yarn : 100% 8 ply DK wool from Waverly Mills Australia

Length: 14" Circumference: 11.5" fully stretched

Pattern: k2p2 Rib

Needles: 4mm DPNs ; 4.5mm casting-on and binding-off

Withdrawal symptoms

I chicken out of my self-imposed 'no new projects until all WIPs completed' diet. The withdrawal symptoms appeared this week, plans for new projects were swimming in my head all the time and I was stealing longing glances into my knitting basket where yarn for new projects had been prepared in ziplocks with patterns.

I missed working on a mindless stockinette jumper project where I can knit endlessly in the round with a good movie or the quick gratification of sock knitting. I missed swatching and discovering how a new yarn feels and the excitement of starting a new project. It was frustrating when I settle down in the evenings to the same two projects.

Well, now I know, I'm a knitting junkie and loving it! So here's Cozy in Bendigo 4 ply cotton.

Remember this ? I've decided to recycle and spent the best of today unravelling months of knitting.

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DH knows this strange behaviour all too well, but daughter YL can't believe I could bear to take everything apart. Maybe it's not such a good idea doing this in the presence of people we are encouraging to take up knitting? It'd scare them off for good!

Surprisingly there's very little wastage and I should be able to knit another jumper with the yarn.