Saturday, March 25, 2006

I have managed to gain control of computor to make a post.
Sunday is my day to do these posts as giving myself a deadline helps to plan the weekend and somehow I cannot sleep in Sundays anyway.
I was woken several times last night with the local boys partying on, after their Footy match(think it was their first or second game of season,held here in Kambalda as it would have been a lot quieter if they had played in Kal!). Having a group of highly enebriated up to twenties aged peoples racing around the street doesn't help for a good nights sleep,so I will be having a catnap later!Might watch the ABC Gardening show at midday and drift off for a while!

On the knitting front I have only to close off and make the pompom for the Kogo beanie! Just enough to do this too.
I was in Kal on Friday and forgot to get another lot of wool to make another to send back with this so I will email them to see if they mind waiting a bit longer so I can get the wool in couple of weeks!
I would like to make a different colourway though so it doesn't get boring, maybe navy and pink! does anyone have any ideas as I have boys only ,I don't really have a feel for what girls will wear colourwise, not little ones anway!
This wool was beautiful to knit with and I am really glad that KMart have decided to boost their stock as Cheryl at the LWS doesn't stock Totem though she has Cleckheaton.

I didn't buy the Country Silk book at KMart as I would be tempted to buy from Perth and if the LWS isn't supported (she isn't a bad price wise and anyhow I love to feel before I buy!!!!!), she will close.Everytime there' s a conversation about craft etc I urge everyone in the group to try Cheryl as many don't even know her shop exists ,(the only Wool shop in Kal)!I spend so much of my time reserved for "personal" shopping,re wool and patchwork,I haven't even made it into the bead shop I have been told is across the street from Cheryls(but I did see it as I wizzed past Friday).Stitchmarkers are on my list you see and buying them is not on! as they look fun to make!

I 'm making progress on the pink Patonyle socks but have to check pattern as they have a calf decrease somewhere and haven't been back to book to look but have a nasty feeling it said twenty rows then decrease and I've done more than that, sitting in the Doctors Friday(Dr was very curious about what I was knitting,and there were a few looks from other patients too,LOL)


That visit won't be forgotton for while as he found a lot of pre cancerous sunspots(12 I think)...so ladies wear your hat even if you look a dag.Mine most likely are from the years I spent chasing sheep and cattle as well as in recent times watching kids at their school sports!My poor nose,and now it looks like it may have a little infection, bugger,I don't like my nose as it is, now it looks or feels even more promiment! Was thinking of taking a day work tomorrow because of the dust but I will see how I go.Normally these burnt off sunspots blister and the last thing I want is nasties getting in there!

The latest of the food dyed wool.This time I've tried to get the stripes that you find in the other sock wools,and the technique is in the length of the skein.
This one was about two and half metres long,though it doesn't look it here,(wound around two chairs across the loungeroom,and had me dizzy by the time I finished)
* which roughly a third was dipped in a mix that was suppose to be dark purple but more like dk mauve,
*a portion roughly the same length was sealed in an oven bag(I eventually found a use for those I bought at Xmas) to try to keep it clear of dye(a little seeped in but on the whole it worked) ,
*then I dipped the other end into the bright pink colour.

The different colours were left in small containers and the white oven bag rested on the edges,the whole lot in a large dish and into the microwave it went .I did the whole thing wearing a sparkling white tee(new too!) and not a splash on me(came close though!!!!!)
The wool was cooked for five minutes and after dribbling some vinegar over the exposed bits to keep them moist,(hot dry wool can catch alight) back in for another five to make sure!
Next time I am going to do a blue green colourway and will be more
prepared and will take a photo record of what I did.
This lot had been soaking in vinegar for five days but I couldn't get to it .The kids always want to help and this time it was too fiddly,so tried to do it before they got home from school.I was held up during the week as Kids wanted to go to pool,bus left oldest son behind in Kal ,so had to travel 68km in to pick him,worked late another time and heaps other things just simply prevented me getting to it.
Think of me as I try to wind this very long skein in to a ball.
Its corredale wool that
came from the Hawthorne Cottage via her Ebay Shop and bought in a huge 500g skein(I bough 500g and recieved another 100g free as a deal) which was fun in itself to wind into 100g balls which I then wound back into a 200m skein to get enough to make a pair of8 ply socks.The lady a HC sells the kits for hiking boot socks using this wool so it should be good.I will try toe up if I can find a good pattern as I don't know much about short row heel,if I chicken out it will be a simple sock pattern instead!

Well I went to Check outhttp://ladybug326.blogspot.com/ this morning so decided to have a go at Wipe out which is where you post a photo of projects OTN at that moment(or close to) so it gives others the urge I suppose to complete their ownUFOs? Anyway 31st March is the day/night,it'll be interesting to see how it goes!

PS wonder if it also means those sleeves that have been sitting there since last winter!

Ta for now

7 comments:

  1. You have been busy, love the beanie. Girl colours?? anything pink really, combinations of pink/orange pink/turquoise that being said I do know girls who don't really go for pink, then I would choose blue/yellow.

    Those sun spots sound nasty, that is the big drawback of our wonderful weather, especially where you live :(

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  2. I agree with Sharon, any colour as long as it's pink for little girls.

    The food dye experiment looks fantastic - almost good enought to take your mind of the sunspots.

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  3. Thanks for the colour advice! Looks like I am on the right track as the blue/pink sounds okay then.
    With the dyed wool,its all wound onto a ball,a big one at that and ready to go!

    As for the big red spots ,I think people will think I was hit by a giant mossie......

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  4. That pink is a lovely colour! I'll be interested to see how your knitted object turns out.

    That's for stopping by!

    -mrspao

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  5. Your welcome Mrspao,I have to post again soon to show my latest efforts!

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  6. Love the dyeing! It is fun, though winding the longer skeins is a pain and then untangling them if you didn't have enough ties around them...

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  7. dyeing is fun but I have dyed the last of the corredale wool and have to wait until I get more to 'continue my experiments'!
    .....I do have some lovely soft merino angora handspun from Bendigo mills.......

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