No Picture??
Yeah, that's right. On Monday, I had my first yarn-dyeing experience. It was fun but also kind of nerve-wracking, because I really had no idea how the colors were going to look and the only way to find out is through experimentation. BUT, yarn to dye and dyes themselves cost money, and I only have so much of them before I would have to order more even if they didn't, so the temptation is to throw myself into it blindly. The result is this slightly gaudy variegated yarn consisting of bright turquoise (too much turquoise), dark brown (the brown is nice), and a kind of weird splotchy yellow and tan section where I was going for a lighter shade of brown, realized it was still too brown when i put the yarn in, so I added a sprinkle of gold ochre - bad idea. It's not terrible yarn, but it's not pretty either. I'm thinking of putting it to good use with the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs that have been sweeping the Internet this week - felting would even out the colors a little and make it actually nice.
Part of the reason I was so set on "saving" the yarn and the dye was that I thought I might have to dye some yarn for the Venezia Pullover, depending on what the Palette colors looked like in real life. My yarn came on Wednesday, though, and I am so happy with my choices. I haven't gotten a chance to swatch yet, but the colors are all fabulous and look fabulous together, and I'm excited about embarking on this lifelong sweater project.
The week overall has been the work week from hell, so knitting-wise all I've really managed is to keep plugging away at the sweater I had to rip out completely twice already. I'm about a half a ball away from being back to where I was on December 28th when the first rip back occurred. I have all of these grand knitting plans for so many things, but on a week like this when my brain is fried and my hands are a little sore, I really, really love the mindless mostly-stockinette sweater. Until I hit the armpits, it's just around and around and around I go, knitting all the way, with two pairs decreases or increases every twenty rounds or so. It may not be an accomplishment, but sometimes just plain stockinette is all you need.