I spent time this weekend trying to right a terrible mistake. When I first started dyeing, I was more or less flying by the seat of my pants. But I knew I liked it. So I look a shocking large portion of some fiber (we’re not going to say how much – let’s leave the past in the past) and planned to dye it a gorgeous green for a very specific project (I no longer remember what the project was). Two things I didn’t account for – how the fiber would react with the dye, and how much dye needed to be used. I use “dye” loosely here. In reality, it was Kool-Aid. Instead of the enchanting green I hoped for, I ended up with this:



An ugly gross limeade, Frankenstein, neon, gag inducing green. But in my Optimism and Hopefulness and Desperation to use my new Babe Pinkie, I spun it up anyway.



I ended up with a crap-ton of really ugly yarn that I had no desire to knit up and even if I did I couldn’t pay anyone to actually wear. This includes me. That was two years ago.
This weekend, I dyed up a few handfuls of the ugly stuff trying to cover the green and still create yarn that I would actually want to use – hoo-boy, did I do that. I started out with 3 skeins of the yarn hot off the swift that I soaked and then immersed into my dye pot. I now use Cushings dyes to dye everything. They’re easy to use and come premixed so you always get exactly the color you need (and expect). I can barely remember what dyes I use in a batch so this is perfect for me. I’d come up with perfect colors that I had no idea how to re-create and slowly go nuts. I placed the three groups in a row in my pot and mixed up two dyes, Silver Grey and Royal Blue. I pour one on each side of the pot. Then let it simmer and mix until the dye bath was exhausted. It usually ends up with one of the skeins being most of one color and the middle one being more a mix of the two. It didn’t quite work so I added Bright Purple and poured it over all the skeins. I ended up with these:







Then I took another skein and use two green colors. I was guessing one green would cover the ugly green better than the blues worked out. I used Hunter Green and Silver Gray Green. I poured the Hunter Green into the center of the skein, not moving it, and let it exhaust. I didn’t completely cover the limeade green so I poured the Silver Grey Green along the edges and let let it bubble until the bath was exhausted again.

Home Decor

As if I don't already make people aware that there is a massive amount of yarn in my apartment, I also bought shadow boxes and put swatches in them as decorations.

They look really good. I figured it was a good use of a swatch and I can switch them out as the mood hits me.

Most likely the ones I used will be in there until I'm 90 but the sentiment is there.

Friday What?

So the whole posting every Friday thing hasn't worked out. At all. I'm apparently busier than I think I am. Classes for the Spring semester finally ended. I don't have to think about library things for a month. I'll never have to figure out a Dialog Search ever again - I hope. (That sucker is hard.) Now it's just working at the library trying to move all the bound journals. There are a ton so I'll be doing that for a while. Other than the fact that the boxes weigh more than I do, it's not a bad job. Looks great on a resume. And I don't mind the repetitiveness of changing the location for each entry and then creating the inventory. Plus, it's 4 hours a day, who can't work 4 hours a day? I'm going to try to start up writing again. Both on the Blog but also in other areas so I'll probably be posting excerpts. Get excited!

I'm slowly getting back into spinning and knitting. I think I made.....I honestly don't think I made anything in the last 5 months. I was never home. I finally finished spinning the Monkey Bridge roving that I dyed and I've started a shawl using only my handspun. So far, I can't decide if I love it or it's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. It might be because I'm currently knitting with yarn I termed "My Little Pony Vomit." It's this weird, ugly combination or pink, purple, and blue. I don't even own pink dye so I'm not sure how it happened but I have it and it's going into the shawl. Pictures later (maybe, remember who's talking - not much has changed on this end.)

Getting Back On

Ok, I'm seriously going to try this again. I like blogging, I like having a record of my thoughts. Mainly because my memory is shot (seriously, goldfish remember things longer than I do). So instead of every day, I'm going to try to go with Blogging Friday. I don't have much on Friday (besides homework....which I'm obviously not working on right now) so I'll take a moment every Friday to reflect on my stuff, what's going on in my life and try to post pictures. I say try because I just got Adobe Photoshop and it's really freaking hard. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who knows NOTHING about photography. It's something I wanted to major in during undergrad (let's be honest - what didn't I want to major in? Oh, right - anything dealing with science or math. Other than that, it was fair game) but that would have possibly been less useful than the English degree. And I kinda suck at it. Arts and crafts I have a natural talent for - photography not so much.

So where am I right now? I am currently working on a Library and Information Science degree. Back to college which I love even if I am back to being broke. I have amazing people here though. I've made great friends which is very exciting. And mainly the reason for all the agony of moving. I hate change and have a tendency to isolate myself. But this has proven that I can make friends. I am not destined to be a hermit after all!

Knitting has slowed down significantly. Where in college the first time around I'd rather stay home by myself and knit rather than stand awkwardly in a room of people that I didn't know at a party, I actually like going out with my friends here. Mainly because there's no awkwardly standing in a room of people that I don't know. Between classes, my job, and spending time with my friends here in a bar, coffee shop, restaurant, ects, I don't have a lot of time for other stuff. I honestly think I've gotten through two hats, a pair of mittens, and 3/4 of a shawl since September. And I've spun like 2 ounces of fiber. Shockingly, that's it.

It's still just me. No fabulous romantic falling-in-love story to share. Part of me is still bothered by that. Most of me is okay with it. I'm not really interested in the thought of dating. Although everyone that I know is trying to hook me up with someone that they know. I appreciate the love (I think it's out of love, right?) but I'm not in a rush. This is going to sound stupid but I met my friends here by sitting down at a table at orientation. That's it. Random chance that I picked their table, and they picked it too. But I adore them. And not in a they're-all-I-have-so-I-have-to-like-them kinda way. I honestly like each and every one of them. It wasn't instantly bff's forever between the five of us either. It was weird, awkward, nerve-wracking, and slightly embarrassing. Why do I have to desperately look for a guy? Or go out on blind dates that my friends set up? Why can't it be as easy as sitting down at a random table? I'm probably being naive. I'll move to desperate when I hit 30. that gives me 6 years to... just be.

Now I have to go do laundry. I'm wearing Christmas socks and a acrylic sweater from my pre-knitting era - desperation has set in.

5 Months

It's been 5 months! I'm not sure how that happened but there you are. Answer me this - why are bad habits nearly impossible to break and ones like say, writing for my blog, are easier than a pretzel to break? (Don't ask me why pretzel popped into my mind - I'm not sure)
I am going to try to start up dating this every day again. With at least something. And an update on my life. Hey, I'm a college kid again. And working and right now really should be doing homework. Some things don't change.

All My Own

I've suddenly had sock madness the last few days. I took another stab at toe up socks. The goal was to make the sock too big since with toe ups they always seem to end up too small. So I made them way, way longer than they needed to be. Still too small. By about an inch rather than 3 but still. The delight of these socks though is this-

Remember this sock yarn?

I posted a pic of it on here once before I believe right before I set it up to be sold on Etsy. It didn't sell which I'm very happy because wound up it looks like this-



And knitted up it looks like this-


Sooo pretty with such nice stripes. This is just the toe but I really love how the yarn striped and pooled at the same time on the final sock. I'm crazy about these socks. I plan to give the too small ones to my Mom as a really late Mom's Day gift. And make myself another pair. I used half a skein and make cute little anklets.

New Things

I think I've finally gotten my knitting mojo back. I have finished off a sock and I am halfway through the second and I've started working on an Ice Queen from Knitty. (A totally insane project to start now that summer is coming but I'm loving the lace.) I'm finally incapable of keeping my hands still. It seems silly that that's a relief but I feel like such a lump just lounging on the couch with nothing to keep myself occupied even if all I want to do is lie on the couch.
I'm sure my timestamps for posts the last two days have given me away but I'm finally through with the full time job. And I don't miss it. I just need to get into a sleep cycle that doesn't involve sleeping from 3 am to noon. I need to keep myself on track and in motion.
In other stuff that is driving me nuts, I completely miscalculated a new friendship. Now I'm let missing it and have interval periods of self doubt, anger and stupidity. I like the second the best. It makes me feel like less of an ass. I have no idea what happened, and really doubt I will, but despite the brevity of the relationship I miss it. And I'm never the type to bound instantly and have bf's overnight. I like familiarity and history. It was still nice. And I'm going to miss the high levels of caffeine.