Adding the CDC Widget to this page

Today, there's a new addition over there in the links side.
It's a CDC Widget that will have new information on health statistics from
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
They have lots of good information.
Especially for some of us that tend to be in denial about our health risks.
Personally, I have been using knitting as a "medication" for about 6 years now.
With my knitting, I'm lowering my blood pressure and stress levels. I hope that I'm also making more brain connections to help reduce the effects of strokes or Alzheimer's (not that I'm experiencing any of that)
My family history runs deep with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, allergies, asthma, arthritis, high blood pressure, strokes, kidney problems, .... Yeah, this is depressing.
So, I'm working on reducing the risk factors that I DO have control over.
Please feel free to join in, and I'll try not to bore you with it too much.
Now you know how this applies to Knitting - which is the most important. Right?

UFO pledge

Seventh and last in the Why UFOs series:

7) Might it be possible to take a No More UFOs Pledge?
A set of Vows?

Wouldn't that just be more unnecessary pressure?

Setting oneself up for failure?
Unreasonable expectations?
Pipe Dreams?
Pie In the Sky?

I am not seeing this one happen.

'Nuff said.

UFO amnesia

Sixth in the series

Sometimes a UFO happens because the knitter just forgot.

Why so many knitting UFOs?

Fifth in the series on Knitting UFOs:

5) Why are there so many UFOs in the knitting universe?
a) Conspiracy theory: the yarn manufacturers, publishers, and the LYS are in league to get us to over consume their products.
i) They will stop at nothing until they have the entire world knitting 24/7.
ii) They will change fashion so quickly, no one will be able to keep up and finish a project while it's still fashionable. Therefore, UFOs multiply like tribbles in the bin.
iii) They are secretly blending in a tactile addictive substance to the yarns, the coatings of the needles, the surface of the paper of the patterns.
iv) Secret, Hidden, Subliminal messages are encoded into the patterns, the pixelations of the web pages, the photos in the publications.
v) The Paparazzi have discovered that if a magazine publishes a photo of a celeb knitting, the circulation skyrockets.
vi) The Movie Moguls have discovered that if there's good knitwear design in a movie, knitters will flock to see it and buy the DVD asap to replicate the designs, thereby boosting the boxoffice.

b) Short Attention Span, ADHD, what is the catch phrase of the week?

c) What 'r we talkin' bout? Moving on....

d) It's a nutritional deficiency. Lack of fiber in our diets. But that explains OCD Hoarding issues, not UFOism. That's gotta be a potty training issue.
e) The knitted UFO is indicative of our fear of commitment as a society.
f) Baby Boomers and those who have come after have never been required to finish anything. We've become a nation of quitters or at least changers; Is that a bad thing? or a good thing?
i) It's OK to not clean your plate.
ii) when we couldn't take the pressure, we quit the team, or the class, ....
was that because the pressure was too much? too soon? too intense?
iii) we changed our college majors 5 times, sometimes to get jobs that didn't exist when we were born.
iv) we job hop, often because the job left us.
v) we can't drive one car long enough to not be upside-down in the loan, (see notes on job above)
vi) we can't stay in one place long enough to pay off the mortgage, or say that we have a "Home Town", or give our kids a place to say they're "From" (see notes on job above).
vii) If we don't like the rules, or the laws, we change them
viii) We don't stay married when it isn't working
g) We demand instantaneous gratification. But with perfection and style. We want to finish a sweater in a day, but make it look like it took a lifetime.
h) We've become too busy with all the things that fill up our calendars. We fill every moment with something important, or maybe just urgent.
i) We've forgotten what is really important.
ii) We are flooded and bombarded with information and images.
iii) Even from infancy, we are driven to "live up to our potential".
Even our youngest children are learning more facts than our ancestors ever dreamed of.
There is so much more information in the world, and so much fantasy and imagination.

A distracting thought here: As an example, when she was a child, my grandmother had
8 grades to finish (no kindergarten or pre-school), now there's at least 15 to 20
26 presidents to memorize, soon to be 44
45 states and capitols
When she got a phone, there were only 4 digits in her number
Her house needed no key
Her one car had one key
The only passwords were for fun, or on a show on one of the 3 TV channels in Black and White, not 3 million colors HDTV via satellite.

Gotta go, There's a new Lost Heroes Star Expose' Mystery Reality Show on in a minute. My TV automatically tuned in to it (from among America's Top 200) so I wouldn't miss it again.

Wherefore art thou, dear lost UFO?

4) I don't even know how many UFOs I have, or where they all are.
a) Should I spend some Saturday, or a sleepless night, sorting UFOs to find which ones have all their parts?
b) As I am sorting out and straightening out my Stash, should I come up with a way to store the UFOs? And maybe an easier way to access them in the attic?
c) Ravelry. Could this be my salvation? Or just another obsessive / compulsive distraction?
i) Could I make a fortune by selling the rare vintage yarns I have to Ravelers and eBayers that really need them?
ii) If my stuff was on Ravelry, and accessible from my smart(alec) phone, Would I be inclined to buy less?
d) If I had all my Stash - and all my UFOs in one place at one time, would negative things happen:
i) The world as we know it be at an end?
ii) The attic would explode from the pressure? (Insurance does not cover that)
iii) Would the men in white coats come to take me away because my significant support people decide I was a danger to myself or others?
iv) Would my DH ever understand?
e) If ...., Then ... Would positive things happen?
i) The attic would be fully insulated and we would save a fortune in energy costs.
ii) The rest of the house would seem spacious and airy.
iii) Really never need to buy anything again, retire debt-free to knit full time
iv) Become totally inspired to finish all the UFOs
v) No Christmas shopping required - everyone gets a FO that was a UFO.
vi) All the people I've ever promised anything to see that I am good for my word and love me even more than ever before.
vii) Lucky Seven - That guilty feeling would go away.
viii) Peace Reigns around the Earth!

Knitting UFO excuses

3) What about those projects where I did come across a UFO later, only to cannibalize the needles and stitch markers for another project? Not too long ago, I used to do that.
Why would I do that? What makes one project more worthy of finishing than another?
a) Lost the pattern
b) Lost a needle or other required tool
c) Lost the yarn and might find it again
d) Ran out of yarn and need to buy more
e) Ran out of patience with the pattern because it was:
i) Boring
ii) Too Difficult
iii) Poorly written directions
iv) Not turning out as expected
f) The intended victim outgrew the UFO, or made a disparaging remark about knitting, fiber, color, style........
g) The yarn wasn't right
i) didn't survive the swatch & wash test: faded, bled, shrank, felted or fell apart
ii) didn't survive the knitability test: itched, scratched, or was otherwise not worthy of knitting.
iii) not right for the pattern: couldn't get gauge, didn't showoff stitch properly, too many colors for the stitch.
h) Got side-tracked onto another project
i) a new magazine / book / Knitty / pattern came in the mail / email / bookstore
ii) a new yarn seduced and distracted
iii) a gift giving opportunity was looming, and the victim really "needed" something besides what was on the needles
iv) Oh, let's be honest, I'm just too easily distracted by anything.
g) The project, or it's component parts, got "lost" when:
i) We cleaned house
ii) We moved
iii) We cleaned out the car
iv) We went on a trip
v) Reorganized storage
vi) Someone was sick, hospitalized, Born, in crisis
h) Priorities Change
i) Stuff Happens

More UFO theory ....

To continue:
More on theories for UFO Rescue inspired by SnB Pageaday calendar 2008

2) Items like needles, markers and counters are usually assumed to be AWOL when the associated project becomes a UFO. If I didn't plan on loosing it, how could I plan on how to rescue it?

a) As a compulsive shopper and obsessive collector, I tend to buy more than I need of everything. So, I have plenty of duplicates of my favorite tools. I know, I'm working on getting over it.
b) Thinking about it just now, it probably would be a good thing to plan out the rescue of the UFO while I'm planning out the project in the first place. It's not like this is a rare occurrence for me, is it? It isn't an accident when a WIP becomes a UFO in my life. Unfortunately, it is very predictable and happens with great regularity.
i) Besides, the planning is the best part. For me anyway. So, getting the disaster drill ready would be a fun mental exercise while knitting.
ii) Note to self: Try not to scare significant support persons with statements like:
"I'm going to put a marker here just in case something happens to me tonight and I don't see this project again for 5 years."
"I'm putting this pattern in the bag with the yarn, just in case I get hit by a bus on the way to work, so someone else will know how to finish this project some day."
It really creeps them out to think that I think such things that they think are morbid things to think. One in particular tells me that it's very negative thinking.
iii) So, what's the positive way to state it?
"If I can't remember what I was doing next time I work on this, maybe this will jog my memory."
"When I pick this up next time, a little piece of waste yarn will mark where I last decreased." Annunciate very clearly so no one hears "deceased".

See ya later, gator.......

UFO Rescue - SnB calendar page for today

I love my SnB page a day calendar. Today's page is on UFO Rescue.
Something about putting in waste yarn as reminders.
Well, that's a great suggestion. Because sometimes from one day to the next I don't know where I left off, when I did the last inc/decrease, especially in something that says to "decrease every third row", or even better "decrease at rows 57, 92, and 111."

As self-declared Regional Queen of the UFOs, I have come up with a few strategies of my own.

1) Always keep a copy of the pattern with the WIP (which may become a UFO at any moment). I don't carry my prized books and magazines with me. I photocopy, or print, the page to carry in my knitting bag. I learned this the hard way; lost the pattern for my DD1's "wedding afghan" and it took me 3 years to get another. I still haven't been brave enough to try to figure out where I was.

a) I never know when a WIP will spontaneously become a UFO. It's not like I see it coming or it's a conscious decision. It's a default setting: I lost the bag, started another project, got sidetracked, ran out of materials, lost a tool, Who Knows?! But I do not ever remember saying "I think I'll pack this away until some later time and finish it then".
b) If I carried the whole book with me for every WIP in my bag today, I would have 2 magazines, 2 full sized books, and a computer in there. The point is, it would weigh a ton and have all my significant support people thinking I'm crazier than I really am.
i) OK, I admit, I do have one of those USB drive things with some of the pattens stored on it. And about 10 sheets of paper in various states of crumple.

More next time.........

Knitting in the Movies

OK, I know, I didn't originally want to see Golden Compass. Just to
prove that I'm not a flock-following sheep, I did read the first book of the trilogy. And, I may even slog my way through the next two in the series. I am very proud that I did Not Buy the book (or financially support the writer in any way). The gigantic tome was left at a friend's workplace break-room by a disappointed reader. And, because of our earlier discussions, he gave it to me ! Woo hoo! I think it was a compliment on him realizing that I am a discerning person that likes to know what I disagree with and why. And, yep, I did not like it.

And I don't mean in the way that I "didn't like" Harry Potter,
but then I read it, and bought copies for all the people I know,
and got on the advanced order list every time a new one came out,
and helped my kids (that were of the right age)
go to the Midnight Opening Day showing of all the Movies,
and knit a bunch
of the stuff from the Charmed Knits
book by Alison Hansel.

So, my point is, I don't like the Golden Compass book. I do not believe that it was written to entertain children or encourage a desire to read or educate or anything positive.

So, when one of my young-ish friends brought over
the DVD one evening, gushing
"You have got to see the Knitting In This Movie !".
Well, I had to watch, and it turned out to be The Golden Compass.
And, I was totally enthralled with the KNITTING !
Not that you ever see anyone actually doing Knitting (that I remember). But, Knit articles of clothing are everywhere in this movie! And they are so "Interesting". I haven't gotten any of my usual victims to commit to wearing any of the FO's that I have sketched out or pointed to in the film.

Anyway, my point is, The Real Story from the
Book is awful as a children's story.
The movie isn't too bad.
The knitting in the movie is awesome.
But, just like the Brats Dolls, I'm not going to support the writers by buying into their commercialism.

I'm sure not too Good to knit from an online photo, though.

Kids in Animal Hats

OK, it finally got here. The kids are sooooo cute! The knits are soooooo cute!
Of Course, I'm talking about Knitted Critters for Kids to Wear. Arf, Arf. Meow, Meow.
But I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. It's basically just hats and mittens knit in colors to mimic animals. I think that many of us could have come up with these.
Use a little graph paper, it's even available online in knitter's dimensions. Find some Fun Fur. Make a hat to match the family pet. Or use the pictures out of any number of kids coloring books for inspiration.
Ears, and Eyes. Yepp, that's about the most inventive new thing in this book. So, if you can figure out how to make droopy ears vs. round teddy ears vs stand up bunny ears, you probably don't need this book.
I'm keeping it for a while to see if it grows on me, other wise, it's going back on the Amazon List and someone will get a great bargain.

Free Vintage Knitting Patterns

Were they Foretelling the future of the Teletubbies?

Found this on Ravelry today. The creator has quite a collection of patterns available. Some of the more interesting ones are for sale as "Digitally restored e-book". Interesting idea? Novel home business? Be sure to check your copyright laws before you try this at home.

Free Knitting Patterns
And, Yes, I know that some of these are Crochet Patterns.

New Book: Knitted Critters for Kids to Wear

To Be published 6/3/2008:

Knitted Critters for Kids to Wear: More Than 40 Animal-Themed Accessories (Paperback)

by Jean Adel (Author)

List Price:	$19.95
Price:	$13.57

At Amazon.com

This just looks too cute!
Gotta have it. I wonder how long it really takes to get stuff from Amazon? Would I get it faster if I wait to buy it at one of the book stores? Do LYSs get copies first?

Tuesday Tips: Photocopies of Patterns

Keep in mind that there are copyright laws, and they apply to all of us.
But, one of my best tips ever is to photocopy the pattern from the book or magazine, and then carry the photocopy around instead of the whole book. You can write on the pattern, highlighting parts, coloring in patternwork, marking off where you've finished, all kinds of stuff.
As far as I can find out, it is perfectly legal to make a copy of a work that you own as long as it is for your own personal use. It seems that you cannot make a copy, then sell the book and continue to use the copy. Then there are the hazy areas of scanning to a disk, and "archiving". Well, those areas are not hazy at all to the writers, publishers, and copyright holders. So, watch yerself! Don't even try to post a scanned copy of a pattern on the internet. It will come back to bite 'cha in the butt.

Now, my Aunt Mary liked to make tiny little pencil notes in her books to remind her of what patterns she had made for whom, changes she made, sizes for people, etc. But, surely it is better to have not lost the book entirely than to have all your notes scattered around in all those books. I would give anything to have some of her books with all those little notes in them. But, after her funeral, a nutty brother of hers trashed them all. They were "worthless" to him.

But, I digress. If having a record of the projects made, etc. is important, maybe you could put those copied pages into a notebook to track the notes? I know that at some point in time my DH is going to "have enough" and go on a cleaning bender, probably throwing away magazines in the process. If a copy of the pattern has been stored with the UFO, is is possible, in theory, to finish it at some later date. So, in the interest of someday conquering my OCD-hoarding disorder, the notebook and copies make it possible for me to let go of some of the mounds of periodicals that surround me.

Library Books: Who in their right mind even imagines that a person, even a super knitter, would be able to finish an entire knitting project before the library book is due?

Magazines: Why do some magazines spread the pattern out over pages scattered somewhat randomly around the magazine? Photo on one page, yarn choice advise on a second, directions on a third, charts on a forth. Oh, and don't forget that the finish up directions might be somewhere else.

Online Shoe Shopping

Ok, We've had quite a hiatus from being Snarky about Fuggly Fashion.
So, We're Baa ... ack!
I know, these aren't KNIT, they're SHOES, kinda.

Actually, they're 6" heels.
Real-ly.

This is the kind of thing that happens when I search the internet. "Honestly, Mom, I was just looking for some shoes that would show off my hand knit socks!"
Ri ig gh ht!

Please do not go horseback riding or even into the barn in those boots.
And, on behalf of the emergency personnel that will inevitably become involved if you wear these: Don't forget to wear clean panties. And, Keep them On! (Quoting Crazy Aunt Purl's Mom)

Well, when I can get back up off the floor: We'll have a few posts featuring good shoes to wear with Hand Knit Socks.

News from the Sock Wars iii Front

To those who have missed me:
I've been observing the Sock Wars iii phenomena.
This is amazing, absolutely amazing.
Only half of the warriors are still standing.
The creativity is rampant.

If you joined up, you could go to this link and follow what's going on:
http://sockwarsiii.memberlodge.org

If you're part of Ravelry, you could join the Sock Wars group:
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/sock-wars-3---2008

www.rubyintheroughsocks.blogspot.com

The origins of Schwag / Shwag / Swag?

Knitting connection to what sidetracked ramblings follow:
Knitty.com (http://knitty.com/blog/2008/04/biggest-contest-knitty-has-ever-had.html)
is have a contest in honor of their 50 Millionth Site Visit.

"So we sat down and thought about how we could thank you guys for reading, linking to, talking about and knitting from Knitty magazine. And one thing came to mind: really great shwag."

There's that word again. Where did it come from?

Have you ever had one of those days where you hear the same term over and over again? And you realize that it isn't a word you remember being in the dictionary or on the spelling list at school? Well Schwag or Swag is one of those words for me. I was trying to figure out if it was an acronym for something. "Something Worthy As Gift" "Some With A Gift" "Stuff Can Happen With a Gift" "Special Happiness Wins A Grin" I don't know. I wanted it to mean something. So, I looked it up:

There was an article int Wired 9.01 (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.01/schwag.html)

"As schwag has evolved into a status symbol, even the word itself is gaining respectability. Once it was slang for stupid, or for low-quality reefer, or, in the classical, dictionary sense - spelled swag - it meant ill-gotten gains or booty. Today schwag has morphed its way into the American lexicon, sans criminal undertones. And so, there's now The Schwag, a Grateful Dead tribute band, and "schwag hags" who covet "schwag bags" hawked at extreme sports events. And there are the industry professionals, who wish the word would just go back where it came from."

There's also the Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=schwag
"The term is also used by many pot heads to describe anything that is low grade.
noun. low grade marijuana"

Yep, there once again, is a word that my Aunt Mary would have ROFL over. A word that not so many years ago might have gotten you detention. Out there in the mainstream with everyone, even knitting grannies, saying it without a clue as to what it means! Aunt Mary, believe it or not, convinced me that Reading The Dictionary Is FUN. I know, she brain washed me when I was young and vulnerable. They didn't used to prosecute people for those kinds of child abuse (kidding).

I keep a list of the words that my kids can say without even blinking, except when in my presence they give me "that look" because they know I'm obsessed about it. It's the list of things that I just cannot say in front of my MIL. I was going to list them here, but I want to keep the G-family rating. Even you would be amazed at the words on my list. Words that you use everyday that your great-grandmother would be scandalized by. Really.
Then there's the words that my MIL uses that have changed meaning: thong, hickey, shag, ...

Aunt Mary didn't ever want to rest in peace. She's up there; texting to me "LMAO" !

Choo Choo Knits goes the way of MacGyver

I was reading Choo Choo Knits retelling of her devastating Harmony needles accident. (You've got to go there and read it yourself: http://choochooknits.blogspot.com/2008/04/dont-make-me-go-all-macgyver-on-your-as.html

And, my reaction was: Good for You !
Nothing should get in the way of Knitting. Kind of like mailmen used to be "Neither rain, nor snow..." before they became Postal Workers.
MacGyver is one of my heroes. I even got the DVD collection and watched back to back with my DS2, he's 12, on a snowy weekend.
I watch Survivor with DD2, a lot, and we used to talk about how I would take knitting stuff as my luxury item. But now the Survivors don't get to pick what they take with them. The producers have taken to dropping them off at their destination during what is supposed to be a "photo-shoot" and things like that. Very "three hour tour"ish. Any way, we sit there watching, and knitting, and figuring out how we could make knitting tools and come up with fiber to knit. Even more extreme than MacGyver.
When an unnamed airline took away my knitting, I practiced knitting (on the plane) with airline supplied tooth-picks and dental floss from my carry on. If they hadn't supplied tooth-picks, I might have been trying those little pre-flossed tooth cleaner gizmos my dentist keeps giving me in my "good patient" baggie.
My seat-mates thought I had really lost my mind. But, I figured I'll never see them again.
I had a very nice Christmas Snowflake decoration by the time I got home.

We shall overcome!

PS: I had a Stamped self addressed bubblewrap and cardboard envelope to send home my precious Addi turbos. And, not thinking Survivorish at the time, I put my UFO in my checked luggage. Had I been thinking more clearly, I might have realized that it would have been better to put the Addi's in the luggage with the UFO Still ON Them ! But, in the end it was a wise decision because the Snail Mail envelope got to my home before my lost luggage did!

PSS: everytime I try to add Addi as a Label for this Post, it tries to insert Addicted ! Coincidence? I think Not !

Not doing so well on the 12 step Fibe-holics Anon program

Well, after the dust of March Madness has settled, I've had a chance to evaluate the fluctuations in my stash over the last few weeks. My search for Jayhawk Crimson and Blue yarn for my Jayhawk Jaywalker Socks did NOT help to whittle down the stash. I seem to have totally lost control, again. It seems that every March, I totally loose control. Really, it's the only sports that I ever really follow. I start watching about the time they post the stuff to pick your brackets, and by the time they're at the Final Four I can't leave the TV for a moment. And in between games, I go foraging for yarn! Why is that? What was I thinking? If I was a drinker, I would probably be having horrible hangovers for the whole Championships. In a weird way, it is a lot like drinking in that I don't seem to realize what I'm doing while I'm doing it.

You know, a rational adult (notice I'm not counting college students) does not go out and say "I'm going to spend all the money I can get my hands on to get so totally drunk that I cannot even remember what I was doing, where I was, or who I was with". Right? Do they?

But here I am, "coming to" the week after the Championships with a "Yarn-Over". I have holes in my memory as to why I bought yarn that I'm finding that I obviously obliviously stashed around during a 3 week spree of LYS SEX. I have bags in my car that I have no Idea How to smuggle into the house.

I could blame it on the extra traveling that I was doing. Yeah, that's it, I'm only in some of those cities Once A Year. I HAD to go to the Best LYS in Town while I was there. Right? You can't go to New York and not go to Times Square, Chicago and miss Marshal's, Minnesota and skip the Mall of America? No, that would be Un-American. So, when you're in a town with a great Yarn Shop, you MUST GO there. That's just all there is to it.

So, this weekend, I can either do the TAXES or I can list all my stash on Ravelry and eBay so I can pay my taxes.
What a Decision.
I really am going to have to count on the Ravelry groups to help me Bust this Stash. Maybe I can knit Basketball stuff? Those nets surely use up some yarn.

Overdying the Regia

In case I didn't give enough details on how I was dying the yarn;
I unwound the two skeins of yarn. Each color section was carefully looped and tied into a bundle. So, it resembled a long garland of knotted wads of yarn. I stuffed the sections that didn't need to be dyed into a pint sized canning jar and closed it with a wide mouthed canning lid and ring as tight as I could. Realistically, I knew that I really couldn't keep color from wicking into it, but it was worth a try and worked out pretty well.
Next, I set two quart jars into a large kettle and wedged the pint jar of yarn so it's lid was on about the same level as the tops of the empty quarts. I put the parts that needed red into the left jar, and the parts that needed more blue into the right jar. I filled the quart jars with water and 3/4 cup of vinegar each. Next, filled the kettle almost up with room temp water. Then, heated the whole shebang to a simmer and left it to cool on the burner overnight. (It was a very short night).
Early the Next morning, started the kettle heating up while I mixed the Wilton Cake Dye with water. I heated two batches of about 2 cups of water and added a blob of dye with a toothpick to each: One Read and One Blue. I tried to mix the dye into the water. It seems to be easier when the water is hotter. Overnight, the two quarts of yarn soaking in vinegar water had soaked up, evaporated and steamed away about half of their water. So, there was room in each quart of most of the 2 cups of dye water. I used a butter knife to carefully swish the yarn knots, vinegar water and dye to mix. The heat was turned up and the water in the kettle brought to a simmer, but not a full boil. We kept it hot for most of 2 basketball games, topping off the quarts with the last of the dye water as the level went down and replenishing the kettle bath water as needed.
I would have never believed it, but the water did clear as the yarn soaked up the dye. Very bizarre. The kettle was taken off the burner and left to cool while we cooked dinner, cleaned up, etc. All while watching the Basketball games, of course! So, I'm not really clear on the times. Eventually the kettle was room temp to the touch. I kept worrying about "shocking" the mostly wool yarn with a temperature change. I don't know if that's a problem with Regia or not. I was not about to take a chance though.
When it finally cooled, the yarn that had dye was rinsed with clear room temp water (one color at a time). It didn't really have much color left to rinse out. Then I 'unsealed' the colors that were supposed to be protected in the empty pint jar. Well, there was some dye mix in there that had worked it's way up the yarns. So, rinsing it until clear was a little more challenging.
I rolled the whole bundle (massive mess) in a bath towel until it quit dripping. The whole thing and a pile of kitchen towels went in to the rocking chair with me. It took half a basketball game to hang it in some sense of order on the Christmas Stocking hooks on the fireplace. At the beginning of the next round of Basketball, we untied each little bundle and wound each ball of the yarn onto the kniddyknoddy. It was still fairly damp, but this time of year at my house with the fireplace going it's about zero humidity so things dry really fast.
Since I had started the toes of both socks, and hadn't frogged back all the way out, there was a little quasi toe at the beginning of each ball of yarn so I wouldn't get them wrong end first. The loosely tied hanks went to hang back on the fireplace hooks for the night.
Next morning (Easter), while everyone was ecstatic over Easter Baskets, and showing off their outfits, and practicing their song and getting their hair just right. And then the drive into Church and all that goes with that; I was patiently listening, and smiling, complementing, and winding the yarn into two little balls to take with me in my little Easter purse.
My own little special project. I had turned the wrong yarn into the perfect yarn for about 25 cents of vinegar and food coloring using the stove to keep the kitchen warm anyway.
Wow - skip on over to the sock page to see how they're going.
Rock Chalk Jay Hawk!

Yarn to dye for

The Regia yarn just turned out to be the wrong colors. Those patches of MUish were just too much. So, I dyed it. I used the Wilton cake colors and dyed the sections that were going to be grey/white/black and yellow/ white / black with the bright blue. The sections that were too much orange got a dose of red. It is ssooo cool, I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.
Anyway, I used vinegar and cooked the whole thing in canning jars and the smallish canner. I hadn't understood how dye could be "exhausted" before. I get it now. This is so cool.
Photos in the AM dy