SP 10 Final Package!

Here's the last package from my Knitty SP 10. I got 2 balls of Patons SWS and two balls of Freedom Spirit. I also got a toblerone, hubba bubba gum and some lavender body wash.

Thanks SP!

I really want to do some more dyeing but I only have 2 balls of highland wool left and Elann occasionally runs out of white - it's going to be my luck that I'll dye it up and I'll desperately need white for something.. I guess I'll just have to be patient until my knitpicks comes in or I should just suck it up and order a bunch more highland wool from Elann... Decisions decisions :-P (ohhh there's some in stock.....)

Temperature: -26C
Sunrise: 8:12am
Sunset: 9:46pm

Easter Egg Dying Experiment

It's the that time of year - the time of year you can get Easter egg dyes and cheap! Today I went out to the drugstore (the only store in town that I know carried the kits) and bought 20 kits. The girls at the store gave me a funny look when I told them what I was using the dye for ("What? That'll work?" was their reply). Even at a discount the kits were more expensive than they could've been but they came out to almost the price of two packets of kool aid (and you get 6 pellets!).

I had some Elann Peruvian Highland wool in white that I decided to use (I ordered some KnitPicks bare a few days ago). The kits came with blue, purple, yellow, orange, pink and green. The purple doesn't really turn out purple unless you add a bit of the pink to it and then it turns a really nice shade (if you add pink to the blue, it turns a really dark bluey-purple). All in all, I think my little experiment turned out really good. The colours are a lot different than how kool aid turns out (I think the colours are a lot more vivid).

Here are the results:

Number one is my favourite and number four is my least favourite. When I was dying #4 I thought I grabbed a pink pellet but it was orange. I don't think I can really over dye it since orange doesn't really go with anything (I keep forgetting and putting orange next to purple - yuck!!!). Anyone like orange and blue?

Temperature: -29C
Sunrise: 8:29am
Sunset: 9:32pm

Guinness & a Hat!

Finally got a bit of knitting done! I have 3 "work" projects on the go right now. I started a baby blanket for Glen's sister but I've been really dizzy lately and looking at it was making my dizziness (& nausea!) worse. So I decided to knit up a few hats since they're quick and are hopefully something I can knit without feeling too sick.

Pattern: No pattern, cast on 92 stitches and went from there
Needles: 4.0, 16" circ
Yarn: Kool-Aid dyed Classic Elite Attitude. I don't know how much of the colour is going to stay since it's cotton & silk. It seems the silk really picked the colour up so it's like a muted colour with bright sort of streaks in it. The colour started to spiral but then stopped a few inches in (I think because I attempted to change to stst and then had to rip it back. My gauge must have changed).
Notes: The hat is a little short so who ever gets it will have to have a small head or not care if the hat doesn't cover all of their ears.

And in other news, I tried my first Guinness tonight. I'm NOT a beer person but I really liked the Guinness. It has a more mellow taste and it's not fizzy (I think part of the reason I don't like beer is because it's too fizzy). I couldn't drink a whole can of it (no pub here to have a proper one) but I think I'd be able to in the future.

Temperature: -29C
Sunrise: 8:37am
Sunset: 9:24pm

RAK

I received a great RAK yesterday from amaryllis on the knitty board. I got a set of crumpet/english muffin rings and some other goodies (chocolate, key rings and some very pretty stitch markers --- the crumpet rings are busy making crumpets that's why they're not in the picture)

I tried making crumpets yesterday but they turned out more english muffin-y... While the recipes are pretty straight forward the batter doesn't turn out how it should when you add all the flour. It turns into more of a dough - definitely not batter-like and definitely not pourable like the recipes say. I tried it twice yesterday, once using the specified amount of flour and the crumpets didn't cook in the middle (too thick) so I tossed them and tried again with a cup less flour. They turned out (muffin-y like I said) so we kept them but they still weren't crumpet-y enough. I think I'm going to find a recipe that uses baking powder instead of yeast because our crumpfins tasted a bit too yeasty. Interesting... Thanks again amaryllis!!!

Not a lot of knitting has been happening... My days off have been spent relaxing/sleeping and running various errands... I tried knitting more on my sock the other day at work but my finger was too sore (the needle was sitting funny on one of my fingers - must've been a pressure point or something because OUCH!).

Oh, I've been meaning to post this for a while.... A few weeks ago I made a greek salad (2 green peppers, a cucumber, a red onion, some carrots, a few vine tomatoes and feta cheese) and it cost me $40!! How much would it cost to make something like that where you live?

Temperature: -19C (windchill: -26C)
Sunrise: 9:29am
Sunset: 8:40pm <-!!!!!!!!